In 2006, Katja Stuke and Oliver Sieber were fellows of the ArtEX program, an artist exchange between Düsseldorf and Osaka. Since then, they have returned to Japan regularly. After returning from Osaka, they met Marie Ogoshi, who had just arrived in Düsseldorf to study at the Academy.

The works exhibited in the exhibition are individual motifs from extensive projects developed over long periods. In their artistic practice, Stuke & Sieber explore social themes, political and social landscapes, and questions of identity and belonging. Without their deep engagement with the Japanese concept of photography, the significance of photobooks in Japanese art history, and their many encounters with Japanese colleagues, projects like Böhm Kobayashi, Photo-Battle, or ANT!FOTO would not have been possible.

During their first three-month stay in Osaka, Oliver Sieber focused on the city’s diverse music and subcultures: the influence of Europe and the US on Japan (J_Subs), and the youth culture that, for the first time, became globally popular from Asia (Character Thieves). Katja Stuke, meanwhile, explored questions of surveillance and the discrepancy between public and private roles (CCTV Osaka Public).

Between 2006 and 2011, they returned repeatedly—Sieber to work on Imaginary Club, and Stuke to examine beauty ideals and idol culture (Cry Minami). After the Tohoku earthquake and the subsequent nuclear disaster at Fukushima, new works emerged: For Tokyo No Hate, Stuke & Sieber met activists between Osaka and Tokyo, who introduced them to further social and societal issues in Japan (Japanese Lesson). In 2019, Sieber also photographed Chu Enoki in front of his studio in Kobe.

The COVID-19 pandemic severely limited their travels to Japan. During this time in Düsseldorf, Katja Stuke created New Moons from the Moon over Konohana series. She also retraced online a route she had cycled in Konohana in 2019 (Konohana Dream). The sound for this work was recorded during a local event in Konohana, where residents debated the 2025 Expo in their district. This conversation plays a central role in another work not included in this exhibition: La Ville Invisible (2024). Also in 2024, Oliver Sieber created the portrait Fujita, who, along with other photographers, runs the Kodoji Bar in Tokyo—a model for the ANT!FOTO Bar.

The Memory Box contains diverse ephemera and mementos from the past 20 years, contributed by artist colleagues and friends, including photographs, sketches, objects, and sound recordings.

Marie Ogoshi, born in Kyoto in 1984, is a site-specific and constructivist artist. Her works often strongly reference the locations in which they are created, offering new perspectives that stand out from the ordinary environment. She studied under Prof. Didier Vermeiren at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. From 2018 to 2022, she was a board member of the Malkasten Artists’ Association. For the Birthday Room at the Stadtmuseum, she developed a new installative work.

Katja Stuke & Oliver Sieber
Marie Ogoshi
Das Osaka Kontinuum
Geburtstagszimmer im Stadtmuseum
May 8-31, 2026

Vernissage: Fr. May 8, 6 pm
Tea-Time Event: »Wir öffnen die Vitrine«
Sa May 23./May 30, 2026 3-5:30 pm