Kato’s WindowWorks exhibition, One Afternoon, is a frosted film photographic collage combining illustrative landscape with photographs of the artist. The cartoon-esque setting is typical of urban areas in Japan, and resembles Kato’s home town, while the poses and costumes of the characters reflect a stereotypical concept of Japanese businesswomen, shop owners, and grandmothers. By combining the comic strip landscape with photorealistic images, Kato establishes a hybrid environment in which an exaggerated narrative points out the underlying absurdity of our everyday routine.
With this exhibition, the artist has further developed her theatre-based practice, this time incorporating posturing influenced by traditional Japanese Kyogen performers and a contemporary form of Japanese dance called Butoh. Kato’s reference to theater is expressed not only through the performative aspect of the work, but also in her development of original choreography and narration, as well as handmade costumes and props. The format of One Afternoon refers to 16th century Japanese cityscape painting, which depicts the cityscape from an aerial perspective-the influence of Eitoku Karino’s Rakuchu rakugai zu (Scenes in and around the Capital) is of particular importance to this piece.
