Press Release
For Immediate Release
June 10, 2024
KATSUNOBU YAGUCHI “AOTENJO-SAJIKI” AT THE WASHINGTOWN SITE
From July 19 to August 24, 2024, Katsunobu Yaguchi (b.1978, Japan) will be holding Aotenjo-Sajiki, a solo show at The Washingtown Site in Mito city, Japan. This is a three-part event comprising: an art show that explores Yaguchi’s expansive body of work produced over the past 16 years at The Washingtown Site, a video screening, and a never-before-presented theatrical piece titled Nonsense People. The art show features a selection of works ranging from sculpture, drawing and photography, including pieces exhibited at Paris Photo in 2017 and LISTE Art Fair Basel in 2018, which will be displayed in Japan for the first time.
Launched by Yaguchi in 2008, The Washingtown Site has achieved several remarkable transformations. At the beginning it was an old abandoned wooden house, scheduled for demolition. Yaguchi converted the house into a café, calling it Café Washingtown, where he created a series of community events such as the Washingtown Festival, and produced and distributed The Washingtown Newspaper, while also running the café. The house finally had to be pulled down in 2013, when Yaguchi took on the entire demolition work himself. He was able to preserve the ground floor exterior walls, setting up an alternative outdoor space for presenting a series of experimental theatre pieces and video works. He also renovated and refurbished a house next door to the demolition site, and in 2018 opened Café New Washingtown and his own atelier.
In 2024 the Washingtown Site is now undergoing a further and final transformation, and facing closure. This is the context for the forthcoming show, which celebrates Yaguchi’s creation of this space and the ideas it has generated. The broad range of works included in the show represent the culmination of the artist’s long-term endeavour, dedication and commitment. His video work Savage Construction is a documentary that chronicles the demolition process of Café Washingtown and the reconstruction of the outdoor space and Café New Washingtown. The theatre piece Nonsense People is scheduled to play for two days – Friday, August 16 and Saturday, 17, at 7.10 p.m. The art show and the screening of Savage Construction are on Thursdays to Saturdays, from 5 to 9 p.m., and the screening starts at 7.10 p.m. Admission prices are listed below.
Nonsense People (Doors open 6:30 p.m.)
¥1800 pre-sale at Ticket Pia (P-Code: 527363)
¥2000 cash only at the door
Art show and video screening
¥1000 multiple-entries pass, cash only at the door
For more information about Aotenjo-Sajiki, email aotenjo@washingtown.jp or visit online at https://washingtown.jp
On X (formerly Twitter) follow @washingtown_jp and Instagram @the_washingtown _site
About Katsunobu Yaguchi
Yaguchi graduated with an MA in Drawing at Camberwell College of Arts, London, UK in 2004. He has been inspired by the interaction between body and space, often incorporating humour in his works. He has worked across a broad range of disciplines and media, including social practice, site-specific installation, performance, sculpture, film and video. From 2004 to 2008, he lived in Europe, presenting a number of improvised performance pieces in abandoned buildings and public spaces. After returning to Japan in 2008, he opened Café Washingtown in an old abandoned house in Mito City. Although the house was pulled down in 2013, it continued to serve as the wellspring of Yaguchi’s creativity. He had a solo exhibition at Paris Photo in 2017 and LISTE Art Fair Basel in 2018. Since 2023, he has expanded his practice by opening Michinoku Café Washingtown in Mizusawa City, Iwate.
To view his artworks, visit the website at www.katsunobuyaguchi.com
The Washingtown Site / Suntopia St. 1-2-10 Minami-machi, Mito-city, Ibaraki, Japan 310-0021 / +81 50 3690 3387
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