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The Guild Art Gallery is delighted to present ‘ We are, we are…’, an exhibition by Iram Ghufran and Yuki Okumura,

“The idea of a black box, unknowable in many ways but recognizable as an unknown is a fundamental assumption of the work of Yuki Okumura. This form of uncertainty is mitigated by the use of language, where ‘I’ is not only subjective but also formally universal in its subjectivity, while functioning as a tool of objectification. 

From a fluid perspective Iram Ghufran highlights the performative aspects of expressions of the other hiding between the folds of self, while bereft of physical and legal set of identifiers – a court of law, the body as evidence, and a body of evidence- echoing the physical and the linguistic ambiguity and misrepresentations in Yuki Okumura’s work. 

How does the fictional and subjective nature of mis/representation provide a variety of meanings, both from an original imprint and a second or third imprint/interpretation? And furthermore what negotiations occur between these translations as it relates to which version constitutes center and periphery, within a subjective and inter-subjective framework? These are some of the questions Yuki Okumura and Iram Ghufran highlight in their works.” – Renuka Sawhney.

Iram Ghufran is a filmmaker and an artist based in New Delhi. Iram's work has been shown in several international art and cinematic contexts:  Berlin Film Festival, Watermans Arts Centre, World Social Forum and ISEA among others. She was based at the Media Lab at Sarai CSDS from 2004 -11, where besides her independent practice, she co-coordinated various projects including the first ‘City as Studio’ programme. Iram is the initiator of Delhi Commons - a critical art project in response to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, supported by ANA [Arts Network Asia]. She was the recipient of the Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council residency for 2012. Her film, ‘There Is Something In The Air’ is the winner of several awards including the National Award for Best Direction and Best Editing, 2012.

Taking the forms of film, performance, writing, lecture, and workshop, and often created in collaboration with others, Yuki Okumura's projects are experiments on how we can liberate ourselves from social and linguistic conditions that confines the way of our existence.  Questioning this systematic confinement to singularity, and partly inspired by the ghostly structure of Japanese grammar, Okumura tries to make situations open to plurality, where "I" malfunctions, or where new linguistic systems need to be built. In other words, his work explores "translation" or "mistranslation" as a way to present parallel realities regarding self and others, toward alternate ways of interpersonal communication.

Okumura was born in Aomori, Japan in 1978. In 2002, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Tama Art University in Tokyo, during which time he spent a year studying in Australia at Queensland College of Art. In 2004, Okumura received a Masters of Fine Arts degree and in 2012 Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo. Recent and upcoming exhibitions include : "Zenbei's Eyeballs (Telescope ver.)", APMOA Project, ARCH vol. 4, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Aichi (2012 solo exhibition, scheduled), "MOT Annual 2012 Making Situations Editing Landscapes", Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (2012 Group exhibition), "14 Evenings", National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (2012 Performance), HIRATA ARAKAWA OKUMURA TANAKA, Raster, Warsaw, Poland（2012 Group exhibition), "Anatomy Fiction - rakugo version" MISAKO & ROSEN, Tokyo (2010 Solo exhibition),  "Love Love Show", Aomori Museum of Art, Aomori (2009 Group exhibition), "Touch the World", Borderless Art Museum NO-MA + OGA - Showten, Shiga（2009 Group exhibition), "Now That I'm By Myself," She Says," I'm Not By Myself, Which is Good", Diverse Works, Art Space, Houston , Texas（2009 Group Exhibition).

On view till January 5, 2013.

Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday, 10 am – 6:30 pm