Tomoyasu Murata, “Omen”
We visited the solo exhibition by film artist Tomoyasu Murata. The venue is GALLERY MoMo Ryogoku, just a short walk from Ryogoku Station.
Tomoyasu Murata is also known for his music video work for Mr.Children.
The exhibition is organized in three parts.
Film Works
The first room you enter is a dimly lit space where his film works are projected.
The films appear to be part of a series; the author is seeing them for the first time and does not know the earlier works or the overall arc, but even on a first viewing the story is easy to follow.
Murata’s films are essentially wordless works with no dialogue. Precisely because there is no dialogue, you find yourself naturally drawn into a mode of viewing that focuses squarely on the imagery.
The story follows twin sisters who were separated by an earthquake; the girls recover their memories through a snow globe that connects past and present, and are eventually led to the world of the dead. The work is sold in a limited edition of 10, and despite prices in the hundreds of thousands of yen, they have been selling — primarily to overseas buyers, we are told: foundations and private collectors in New York and Switzerland. He seems to have devoted fans.
This room also offered for sale the miniature sets actually used in the films.
Installation Work
The second room featured an installation work.
Programmed illumination glowed in the darkened space.
The kind of work you want to keep standing and watching indefinitely.
The Third Room
The last room is the innermost room of the gallery. With a table and chairs set up, it is a bright, relaxed space.
There were mask (omen) works, a list of works, and even a capsule-toy machine.
The atmosphere was wonderful and the space felt at ease.
We ended up staying quite a long time; it felt almost apologetic that this was all free.
The artist gives a strong impression of being someone remarkably skilled at building an entire world.
We got to turn the capsule-toy machine twice. Grateful for the postcard set we received, we left the venue.
