curator’s note: forms of becoming
Fri, Nov 21, 2025 | 7:35 PM
being freelance is an existential challenge as much as it is a capitalist one. it’s easier to hate the game when you’re being forced into it against your will. deciding to become an active player, as i have, requires a certain level of idiocy, ignorant optimism, narcissism, greed, and moral compromise— traits that i’ve never wanted to associate myself with, but feel that i must, now, as a company of one.
i’m now the kind of person whose brain space is taken up by thoughts of how to manage my time and present myself so as to accumulate more wealth. this new identity has made me an alien to myself. there’s disappointment, but elation, too; a newfound streak of hedonism (“i’m investing in myself!”) and carelessness (“just do it!”), as well as self-consciousness– my projects are my choice, now, so my career is no longer a coverup for my insecurities but a naked display of my true interests and desires, committed publicly for the world to judge.
i’m becoming… what, i’m not sure, because i’m still becoming it. i think the projects i’ve worked on since becoming independent reflect this growing and stretching phase. i look at what i’ve done this year and feel simultaneously proud and frustrated– i’ve done a lot, but i could’ve done better; i want to have a stronger, more coherent vision, but i also need to take jobs to make money to survive.
what does it mean to be a curator, and a freelance one, at that? this is a question i’ve been working on detangling day by day, and while the answer is still far away, i believe that “selecting things” is one of the less important tasks on the list of what a curator should do. a curator— or at least, the type of curator i would like to become— should first of all be aware of the drudgery of every day life that defines the parameters of what is realistic, and then work to tackle those very structures, so that the shape of reality changes in a way that allows for art and self-expression to flourish.
that being said. i am still very new at this, and am starting off with first learning how to simply “select things,” which i was given the opportunity to do at the upcoming show forms of becoming at wkm in hong kong. it’s a group show of 4 japanese ceramicists: osamu inayoshi, takumi morozumi, tomohisa obana, and tomoko obana. (yes, this was all a lead up to some exhibition PR. Ha! bet you never read a press release like this one before.)
the show opens tomorrow, november 22, from 3-7pm (hk time).
and exclusively for my loyal newsletter readers: here’s a sneak peek of the show!
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WKM Gallery: Forms of Becoming
Osamu Inayoshi, Takumi Morozumi, Tomohisa Obana, Tomoko Obana
11.22.2025 - 1.3.2026
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the exhibition layout was masterminded by will, the gallery director! he did a really fantastic job of presenting the selection that i basically just sort of threw at him.
you can check out their website for my ~official write-up~ on the exhibition and the artists, proper capitalization and all.
i’ll probably shoot out another bit of text about this show to give the artists their deserved time in the spotlight, because i have, once again, just blabbed on about myself; we’ll see if i can manage to squeeze in some writing time before i head off to fukuoka next tuesday for a show i’m organizing at cassette— more about that soon.
stay tuned for more news and more art coming your way! ☆
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bulletin board
opening tomorrow:
forms of becoming
osamu inayoshi, takumi morozumi, tomohisa obana, tomoko obana
11.22.2025 - 1.3.2026
opening reception: 11.22 sat 3-7PM
wkm gallery
20/F, coda designer centre, 62 wong chuk hang rd, wong chuk hang, hong kong
https://www.wkm.gallery
coming up next week:
how can you be so sure
sophie varin
11.28 - 12.28.2025
opening reception: 11.28 fri 5-8PM
cassette
1-2-8 tojinmachi, chuo ward, fukuoka, 810-0063 japan
https://cassette-f.jp