kakoueda.com, artist

Paper has been my primary medium of choice for a long time. It is an everyday material yet has potential to manifest itself in surprisingly diverse ways. I have drawn and painted on paper, printed images on paper (photography), then in graduate school (Pratt 99') folded paper. And for the past 7 years, I've mainly been cutting paper besides making other types of art. Cut paper exists in many cultures and is normally perceived as a craft medium, however as we witness these days more and more contemporary artists have been actively utilizing this medium as their way of expression. In Japan where I was born, this medium is used for stencil making--a way to make patterns for kimono wear. I became attracted to the medium because of its history as well as its process of cutting to make images. Cut paper piece has a look of a drawing at the same time has its own physicality. It is a "2 and a half" dimensional medium, so to speak.
I am interested in organic beings--insects, animals, and human bodies--how they are born out of nature but constantly being influenced and modified by culture. And the line between culture and nature is always shifting and not so clear. At the beginning, I focused on the notion of body as environment/ecosystem based on the philosophy of ancient Chinese medicine (holistic approach) and Greek philosophy of macro/microcosm idea.

Kako Ueda