Mari Ito

In her work, Mari Ito explores the theme of “desire”. She has, in fact, always been drawn to the Freudian theory of the human psyche and the three entities cohabiting our psyche: The Id, the Ego and the Superego. Of these three, the artist reflects on the first —the Id, the most pure and primitive— as the source of our desires and their consequences. As, unlike in Western culture, Japanese society frowns upon the outward expression of certain opinions and emotions, particularly in public spaces, this heightens the interest of the pieces, serving as they do to help transmit certain thoughts and feelings. In doing so, the artist attempts to alleviate this need for direct communication in the form of words, revealed to be truly complex in Japanese society.