Fig Leaves | Ai Ozaki

Opening: Friday 7 November, 18:00–20:00

Annet Gelink Gallery is proud to present Fig Leaves, a solo presentation by Ai Ozaki, in the project space The Bakery. Ai Ozaki is a visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice encompasses video, sculpture, text, drawing, and installation. Her work investigates the body, everyday life, and the ways in which the body interacts with 'the Other'—a concept that for Ozaki includes not only other human beings, but also all living creatures and the self. Observing the boundaries of comprehension between humans, animals, and the body itself, Ozaki explores the gaps in communication and perception that shape these relations. Through her practice, she imagines new forms of dialogue with beings and forces that are simultaneously intimately close and fundamentally incomprehensible.

Ozaki’s most recent research and work focuses on two closely intertwined themes: 性 (sei: sex, human nature) and 食 (shoku: eating, food, life). These subjects stem from our shared experience of possessing a body, as well as from her personal history. Growing up with parents who worked on pixelating pornographic videos—a process used to conceal genitalia, known in Japan as 'mosaic'—Ozaki became attuned to a state of seeing and not seeing. In these censored images, she observed human figures interacting like animals, revealing a primal rhythm that connects all living beings.

Daily life forms the foundation of Ozaki’s creative process: cooking, dead insects on the balcony, conversations with friends, and shared domestic experiences become material for reflection and creation. These personal fragments connect to broader human histories, to myths, symbols, and images that have resonated across time and culture. Her practice investigates how intimate experiences and bodily realitie