Artist Statement:
Aki Lumi was born in 1957 in Tokyo, Japan. After initially studying painting, he transferred to the Kuwuzawa Design Institute, a Bauhaus inspired university, to pursue studies in graphic communication. For several years he took part in the staging of theatrical projects as well as the exhibition of numerous photographic, typographic and illustration works. In 1992, soon after becoming artistic director of the International Tokyo Theatre Festival, Lumi left Japan to settle in Paris.

Lumi's work retains a strong multi-media character, with photographic imagery often being subjected to a range of manipulation, from digital processing, to hand-drawn elements in pen and ink. Lumi is fascinated by networks and systems, whether on the micro scale of the body or the macro level of the city, and often confounds our expectations by demonstrating the interchangeable nature of each. His images of aircraft and mechanical engineering are often softened and colored to appear like natural objects, while his series 'The Garden' features lush panoramas of vegetation that are digitally constructed composites laid out on logical frameworks.