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Curator’s Note

ARTISSIMA FAIR
anonymous art project
turin, italy 2026


Presented by anonymous art project

Curated by: Namiki Serizawa

TEXT MY NAMIKI SERIZAWA

 Lines that ripple and flow across surfaces in numerous layers represent the bark of great trees and melting masses of ice in the far north. Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka makes prints based on natural subjects she encounters around the world, including in her native Canada. Living with bipolar, she finds in nature, which continually shifts and undergoes dramatic transformations over time, the strength to accept her own inner fluctuations and difficulties and meet them with resilience. Through her work, she seeks to give visible form to the world of her psyche.


For Hatanaka, who has roots in Japan, washi (traditional Japanese paper) made using uniquely Japanese techniques is an important material. Tosa washi is translucent, exceptionally thin and light, yet also durable, a combination of qualities that parallels the character of Hatanaka’s work. Crazy is made with custom-made Tosa washi by the maker Tatsuyuki Kitaoka, while her other works employ paper from Kashiki Paper Co., Ltd., which has produced Tosa washi for generations. Hatanaka spent time in the region and developed a deep respect for the tradition of washi making, practiced for more than a thousand years and sustained by knowledge and skills passed down through generations. She carries this tradition forward in a variety of forms, including three-dimensional works made by sewing together sheets of washi to resemble clothing and performances in which she wears these works.

The organic lines running through Hatanaka’s images seem almost alive as they surge, pulse, and intersect. As the images overlap with the viewer’s state of mind, they begin to unfold as a complex inner landscape. - Namiki Serizawa
 

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