Untitled 2, #smudge #video

In his #smudge video series, Kenta Cobayashi applies a painterly digital smudge tool to his own photography. He draws on the practices of painting, drawing, and calligraphy to transform the image with smudged lines in front of the viewer’s eyes. As a member of the generation that grew up using digital technologies, Cobayashi is interested in the way that images proliferate in our digital ecosystem, but he recognizes that sharing them also makes them vulnerable to glitches, alterations, or other types of interference. Cobayashi is particularly interested in the layer of time embedded in video art. This series connects to his larger project, observing the visual manifestation of the passage of time in Tokyo’s neighborhoods, where these images were taken. Many of these areas retain aspects of their historical character while also rapidly changing. In 2016, when these videos were made, many Tokyo neighborhoods were being renovated in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics.