From Press Release:

Ruri Clarkson will present her new work “IMPOSING WORDS: Contemporary family matters” at Nidi gallery. Her exhibition will highlight discordant keywords of contemporary Japanese family by using embroidery, a method closely associated with women. 「負け犬」 （makeinu）, which literally translates to “loser dog” but refers to single woman without partner, and 「婚活」 (konkatsu), which means marriage hunt, are just few of the words that get passed around by the media to spotlight the shift in domestic structure in contemporary Japan. These words impose themselves on Japanese women with their overloaded meanings, blurring the separation between the “ideal self” in the eyes of society and the “true self” which is unaffected by society.

Adorning each imposing words with wordplay inspired motifs, by the task of sewing, Clarkson examines and questions the usage of these words and their impact on women’s lives. The venue will be set up as a “home”, with laundry lines running from wall to wall with artworks hanging from them. In this “home” the audience are invited to feel the doily shaped artworks with their hands to readjust the distance they have between the imposing word and themselves.

Biography

Ruri Clarkson is a nomad, nurtured by 4 countries. In 2009 she started creating artworks which led to illustrating for clients, as well as exhibiting in galleries and alternative spaces in Tokyo and Hong Kong. In 2011, Home a zine masquerading as a “guide” to homemaking, was featured in Tokyo Art Book fair’s Feminine artist’s publication. In WHY WHY WHY, her recent zine, she expands her work to include manga, photography and writing, venturing into multidisciplinary communication with her audience. Ruri is a student at AIT(Arts Initiative Tokyo) and a graduate of Department of Environmental Information at Keio University. Winner of 2012 Isetan WAM award, 2011 The Choice award.