Mari Katayama

October 12, 2019 - January 26, 2020

Japanese artist Mari Katayama (born 1987) features her own body in a provocative series of works combining photography, sculpture, and textile. Born with a developmental condition, the artist had both her legs amputated at the age of nine and has worn prosthetics ever since. In order to fill a deep gap between her own understanding of self and physicality, and contemporary society’s simplistic categorizations, Katayama began to explore her identity by objectifying her body in her art. In photographs she assumes different personas, dressed in revealing lingerie in private, domestic spaces or in dramatic waterscapes. The unflinching display of the vulnerabilities and limits of Katayama’s body opens up a broader conversation about anxieties and wounds for all of us—disabled or nondisabled—living in an age obsessed with body image. UMMA’s installation will be the artist’s first solo exhibition in the U.S.

Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, Center for Japanese Studies, the Japan Business Society of Detroit, the Japan Cultural Development, and Herbert W. and Susan L. Johe Endowment. Additional generous support is provided by the Susan and Richard Gutow Endowed Fund, the University of Michigan CEW+ Frances and Sydney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, and Women's Studies Department. 

Images

Mari Katayama, on the way home #001, 2016, chromogenic print. © Mari Katayama. Courtesy of rin art association

Mari Katayama, on the way home #005, 2016, chromogenic print. © Mari Katayama. Courtesy of rin art association

Timeline

Exhibition Timeline

SatOct 12
Exhibition Opens
Thu
Oct 10
Penny Stamps Speaker Series: Mari Katayama: My Body as Material
5:10pm6:30pm
Artists and Curators / Exhibitions Related / Student Events
Wed
Oct 23
Mari Katayama Open Gallery 5-6 p.m.
5:00pm6:00pm
Exhibitions Related
Wed
Oct 23
Persuasion, Human Improvement, and Disability: A Talk from Fables and Futures with George Estreich
6:00pm8:00pm
Exhibitions Related / Special Events / Student Events
Tue
Oct 29
-CANCELED-
Superfest International Disability Film Festival
6:00pm8:00pm
Exhibitions Related / Film / Student Events
Tue
Oct 29
Mari Katayama Open Gallery 8:00-8:30 p.m.
8:00pm8:30pm
Exhibitions Related
Sun
Nov 3
Mari Katayama
2:00pm3:00pm
Exhibitions Related / Gallery Talks and Tours
Sun
Jan 19
Mari Katayama
2:00pm3:00pm
Exhibitions Related / Gallery Talks and Tours
Sun
Jan 26
In Conversation: Disability and Power with Dessa Cosma
3:00pm4:00pm
Artists and Curators / Exhibitions Related / Gallery Talks and Tours
SunJan 26
Exhibition Closes
UMMA - Feel Free. New Look. New Website. New Experience. Coming January 2024.

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