KANOKO OKUWA

Kanoko Okuwa is a Japanese artist from Tokyo, currently based in London. 

Central to her practice is the idea of “reactivating the breath” of everyday experiences, and its breath being built from surprises. From encountering a past love unplanned on the street, to an unexpected confirmation on a pregnancy test, she believes that surprises build the unpredictability and breath of our everyday lives. From her own lived experiences, Kanoko explores her encounters with fleeting presences or moments of intimacy, grief, mystery and love. 

Painting acts as a “meeting space” of these surprises for Kanoko, drawing from the Japanese word 絵 (images) containing the character 会 (meeting). 

Her most recent series, “After the Surprise” developed from her experience of having an abortion after an unplanned pregnancy. The series explores the surfacing of the emotional, moral and political contradictions, and its transformation in her perspective and orientation in her everyday life. The series isn’t about the procedure itself or continuously repositioning herself to the moment of the happening, but rather focuses on what happens “After the Surprise”, following the ongoing nature of grief and navigating ways to move forward.