Ittah Yoda

Duo formed by Virgile Ittah, born in 1984 in Paris, France, and Kai Yoda, born in 1985 in Tokyo, Japan. They live and work in Paris.

Ittah Yoda is formed by Kai Yoda and Virgile Ittah based between Berlin, Paris, and Tokyo. They both attended the Royal College of Arts in London. Kai Yoda initially studied environmental information at the prestigious KEIO University in Tokyo, before pursuing photography and moving image studies at the Royal College of Arts in London in 2011 where he met Virgil Ittah who specialized in sculpture. The duo formed following their graduation from the Royal College of Arts in 2013.

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Ittah Yoda’s practice constitutes the prefiguration of a post-anthropocene world, that of a “symbiocene” where the human, the natural and the digital would live harmoniously. This term of “symbiocene” is based on the concept of symbiosis, this lasting and mutually-beneficial relationship for each being involved in this exchange. Symbiotic relationships can already be observed in nature, such as the one between phytoplankton and zooplankton, which the duo studied with biologists in order to abstract it and make it the intellectual and artistic material that links all the elements of their varied practice.

Those who follow Ittah Yoda’s practice thus bear witness to the slow birth of a new symbiotic ecosystem: each new project brings us closer to this ideal world and embodies parts of it. Their work must be thought of as an ecosystem in its own right, where each of the many mediums they invest (sculpture, installation, virtual reality, painting, furniture, etc…) acts as a species and where each form shares genetic-artistic information with its ancestors.

If their practice is an ecosystem then the VR is the gestation process common to all beings in this world, giving birth to all forms that are then embodied in painting, sculpture, or installation. The duo systematically takes as a starting point the organic forms that populate this VR-landscape to develop their works. It therefore occupies a particularly important place in the work of Ittah Yoda, who wishes to give it an autonomy of its own via artificial intelligence.

If their work is focused on the future, it is however not devoid of history. Refusing identifiable cultural anchors, the duo draws its roots in artistic references considered universal (cave paintings, pigment painting techniques, molded and blown glass, etc…). This implies, among other things, a deeply collaborative methodology, based on co-creation with numerous craftsmen, and the use of materials with a rich cultural history (glass, brass, wood, aluminum).

The question of symbiosis is also at the origin of the duo’s preoccupation with the place of care in their work, and the desire to offer whole environments that are pleasing to both mind and body.

Ittah Yoda joined the Galerie Poggi in January 2022, which holds their first solo exhibition in Spring 2023, alongside several group and solo exhibitions at the Centre Culturel Jean Cocteau in Les Lilas (FR), the Musée des Beaux Arts d’Angers (FR) and the Centre International d’Art et du Paysage (FR).

Ittah Yoda has already had numerous exhibitions, including Paris + by Art Basel, Paris (FR), the Armory Show, New York (US), the Palais Augmenté, Grand Palais Éphémère, Paris (FR), the Biennale de Nice, Le 109, Nice (FR), the Rencontres d’Arles, Arles (FR), Poush Manifesto, Paris (FR), Sprout Curation, Tokyo (JP), Annka Kultys Gallery, London (UK), Cité International des Arts, Paris (FR), Frieze N°9 Cork Street, London (UK), ARCO Madrid, Madrid (ES), etc.

They are part of the most promising artists of 2022 according to the newspaper Le Monde.

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Gallery Contact

Camille Bréchignac
c.brechignac@galeriepoggi.com