Kei Ito

Kei’s work addresses issues of generational connection and deep loss as he explores the materiality of photography as a medium. His current work deals with the tragedy and legacy passed on from his grandfather who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, yet died from cancer and the threat of nuclear disaster which is still present today.

His recent works express a strong connection between the sun and his family history regarding the idea of invisibility in light and shadow, and how the unique characteristic of photography as a media has allowed him to express this matter.

On August 6th, 1945, at 8:15 AM, Kei Ito's grandfather, Takeshi Ito, witnessed a great tragedy that destroyed nearly everything in Hiroshima. He survived the bombing, yet he lost his family members from the explosion and radiation poisoning. As an activist and author, Ito's grandfather fought against the use of nuclear weaponry throughout his life, until he too passed away from cancer when Kei Ito was ten years old. Ito remembers his grandfather saying that day in Hiroshima was like hundreds of suns lighting up the sky.

In order to express the connection between the sun and his family’s history, Ito has created 108 letter size prints and a 200-foot long scroll, which were made by exposing Type-C photographic paper to sunlight. The pattern on the scroll corresponds to his breath. In a darkened room, Ito pulled the paper in front of a small aperture to expose it to the direct sunlight while inhaling and paused when exhaling. He repeated this action until he breathed one hundred and eight times. One hundred eight is a number with ritual significance in Japanese Buddhism and culture, called Joya no Kane. It’s an event where all of the Buddhist temples in the country strike human size or larger bells one hundred and eight times from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day. The number corresponds to the number of evil desires that we suffer from on earth, which is believed to cause war. This rids us of our evil passions and purifies us for the upcoming year. The ritualistic image making of this repeating act, which corresponds to his breath, has become the act of remembrance.

Kei Ito has shown in over 30 exhibitions worldwide. Among those are solo and group exhibitions at the Walters Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL; Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA; Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Fransico, CA; and PH21 Gallery in Budapest, Hungary.

2017

• Honorable Mention for INFOCUS Sidney Zuber Photography Award, Phoenix Art Museum, AZ
• Maryland representative Artist for The States Project, Lenscratch

2016

• 7th Manifest One Award, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
• Rubys Artist Project Grants: Full grant recipient, GBCA
• Honorable Mention for IPA: International Photography Awards
• 4th Annual New York Times Portfolio Review recipient
• Shortlisted for Royal Photography Society Annual print exhibition, UK
• Snider Prize honorable mention
• Awards for Innovations in Imaging awarded by Society of Photographic Education
• Shortlisted for Royal Photographic Society Annual print exhibition, UK
• Shortlisted for Tokyo International Foto Awards
• Honorable Mention Award at 53rd Annual Juried Exhibition at Masur Museum, Monroe, Louisiana

2015

• Nikon International Photo Contest - 2nd place

2014

• Exceptional Selections by Xerox and SPAS
• American Advertising Award: Silver ADDY

2013

• EDU2013 photo contest - Finalist
• Nikon International Photo Contest- 2nd place
• Finalist for Nikon Best of College Photography Contest and Sigma 33rd Annual Best of Photography Contest

• Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Maryland Institute College of Art
• Nikon Corporation
• Chroma / California Institute of Integral Studies

• Masters of Fine Arts in Photographic and Electronic Media from the Maryland Institute College of Art, 2016
• Bachelors of Arts in Fine Art Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology, 2014