Koki Tanaka

Walking Through 2009 A3

Walking Through is one of a series of videos—sometimes humorous, often absurd—that record the artist’s performative interactions with objects in a particular site. Here, Tanaka has spread out various objects he collected throughout the...

Process of Blowing Flour 2010 A3

Tanaka’s unique understanding of objects and materials is reflected in the four photographs that document his Process of Blowing Flour. The images depict the gradual blowing away of a plate of flour held by Tanaka. Because his pose is...

Koki Tanaka is part of a generation of Japanese artists whose work responded to the economic recession and limited opportunities that beset their country in the early 2000s. Instead of creating monuments, these artists focused on everyday life, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary by stimulating moments of perceptual awakening. Their social critique was enacted through the spectacular and unexpected combination of materials, humor, and simple actions. Working primarily with found objects and video, Tanaka’s practice reveals hidden links between object and action.