MAIKO ITO

I continue my practice while moving between Japan and the United States, and at times traveling through cities in East Asia. As a queer person living across multiple locations, I move between the inside and outside of the social boundaries that shape our lives, observing the world from within those in-between spaces. Through this ongoing movement, I am repeatedly confronted with how borders, systems, gender, and race—socially constructed lines—quietly define the ways a person is able to live.

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These experiences are not mine alone. Many people live their daily lives within forms of marginality that remain difficult to see and are often overlooked. In truth, how we live should be something shaped by individuals rather than by systems or social expectations. Yet those who are unable to freely make those choices are very much part of the fabric of our society. Beginning from my own experiences, I aim to carry the realities and emotions of people whose lives often remain unseen into my work, carving them into the social landscapes that surround us.

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In my work, starting from my own experiences, I seek to give form to the often-unseen realities and emotions of those whose lives are not easily visible, inscribing them into the landscapes of society. My practice is an attempt to capture the presence of people who live along various boundaries, layering perspectives and memories accumulated through movement across countries. I hope that viewers, through encountering my work, might reflect on their own positions and ways of seeing, and reconsider the invisible lines that shape the world around us.

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We live in a time when long-held values—those built to resist discrimination, inequality, and exclusion—are increasingly at risk. In such moments, I feel a deep need to protect the clarity of personal perception, and to stay grounded in what resonates within. Through my work, I hope to offer a space for quiet contemplation, free from judgment or instruction. A space that honors each person’s unique and irreplaceable point of view.