Kei Imazu (b. 1980) uses computer applications to process and compose images taken from various media such as the internet and digital archives, producing oil paintings on canvas based on these initial sketches.

In 2017, Imazu moved to Bandung, Indonesia to live and work. In recent years, her works have shifted to represent her research into contemporary issues of urban development and environmental pollution in Indonesia, all of which capture the reality of the artist’s immediate surroundings. These issues are never directly expressed in Imazu’s works, but are rather woven and linked between a diverse range of archival images, juxtaposing multiple temporalities pertaining to Indonesian history, mythology, and ecosystems related to biological evolution and extinction, thereby extending her work in a more expansive direction. Imazu’s paintings, in which elements of global environmental issues, eco-feminism, mythology, history, and politics are juxtaposed on the same plane, are dynamic forms of artistic expression created by the vast amount of images and information passing through her body.

This is Imazu’s first large-scale solo exhibition, who has garnered much attention in recent years both in Japan and abroad. The title, “Tanah Air,” is made up of the Indonesian words tanah(earth) and air(water). Together, these two words mean “homeland.” Imazu’sworks—based on her thoughts and experiences while living in both Indonesia, where she currently lives, and Japan, where she has her roots—invite audiences into a contemplative return to one’s sense of place and belonging.