We visited the exhibition “5,471 miles” at Blum & Poe.
The title “5,471 miles” refers to the physical distance between the two cities that anchor BLUM&POE’s operations — Los Angeles and Tokyo — and reflects the exhibition’s premise of primarily introducing artists based in and around these two locales.
“5,471 miles” at BLUM&POE (Tokyo)
Although the exhibition is international in scope, unfolding across two cities, its curatorial theme lies in the paradox posed by the current situation, in which the pandemic has essentially restricted movement and shipping to strictly local territories. The show can never be seen in its entirety at any single venue; rather, it is a highly unique exhibition composed in equal measure of the works physically present on-site and those that are not.
Installation viewLeft: Yoshitomo Nara, “on the carpet,” 2019, Pen and color pencil on paper, 37.5 x 29.6 x 3.7 cm Right: Yoshitomo Nara, “watching girl,” 2019, Pen and color pencil on paper, 37.5 x 29.6 x 3.7 cmLeft: Yoshitomo Nara, “drumming girl,” 2019, Pen and color pencil on paper, 37.5 x 29.6 x 3.7 cm Right: Yoshitomo Nara, “star on the finger,” 2019, Pen and color pencil on paper, 37.5 x 29.6 x 3.7 cmLeft: Yoshitomo Nara, “ukulele girl,” 2019, Pen and color pencil on paper, 37.5 x 29.6 x 3.7 cm Right: Yoshitomo Nara, “think about something,” 2019, Pen and color pencil on paper, 37.5 x 29.6 x 3.7 cmKishio Suga, “Intervals of Existence Arising,” 2020, Acrylic and varnish on wood, 120x90x28cmInstallation viewKazumi Nakamura, “Mulberry Tree on a Solitary Island II,” 2016–2018, Oil on canvas, 160x130cmYukie Ishikawa, “Impermanence—Kobushi Magnolia,” 2020, Acrylic and sand on canvas, 100x100cmYukie Ishikawa, “Impermanence—Tanjitsu,” 2020, Acrylic and sand on canvas, 91x91cmKenjiro Okazaki, “The fields were green, small birds were singing, dew was shimmering, smoke was rising, and everything one saw here and there was ‘someone.’ Everything that appears and transforms in the light, everything that stirs the heart, must surely be the work of ‘someone.’ If plants had no feelings, the sensations filling the earth would grow sparse and thin. The hearts, shaped like insects flitting around flowers, must also be lonely. Nothing touches the eyes or ears of the beasts running through the forest. Yet when a beast, standing before a puddle, suddenly feels thirst, that thirst itself is ‘someone.’ The branches of the hazel move, and the sun sinks in the west. Sea breeze, tide breeze — what do they seek as they wander?,” 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 210.2×259.7×7.6cmKenjiro Okazaki, “As ripples arise on the great ocean and leaves grow on trees, we were born into the world. The ripples each catch the light on different slopes and glitter; even when the branches do not move, the leaves of the tree tremble (pricking up their ears and eyes). To the eyes, to the ears, to the hands, it occurs as if it were an entirely separate event. Yet when consciousness grasps the world, the body withdraws into the background like a receding tide. I say (so do not rely on eyes and ears): rise up.,” 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 73×91.4×6.4cmInstallation view
Around eight works from Kenjiro Okazaki’s Zero Thumbnail series were also on view.
Kenjiro Okazaki, “Kambia no / Kamby Bolongo mean River meant Freedom,” 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 18.3×24.4×3.7cmInstallation viewKenjiro Okazaki, “Tahoma / Mount Rainier,” 2020, Acrylic on canvas, 20.3×16.3×3.5cmKenjiro Okazaki, “Loowitlatkla / Mount St. Helens,” 2020, Acrylic on canvas, 20.3×16.3×3.2cmKenjiro Okazaki, “Côte d’Azur,” 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 18.5×16.1×3.1cmKenjiro Okazaki, “Infanta Margarita / Kunto / Il Pomo d’Oro,” 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 20.3×16.5×3.1cmKenjiro Okazaki, “Bosque de colina alta / Ichijiku wo tabe ni / Paseo,” 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 18.2×23.2×2.9cmKenjiro Okazaki, “Juyoji / Ix chel / Sora no mizugame,” 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 16.8×20.1×3.1cmKenjiro Okazaki, “Le piège mystique de la licorne / Kanran kankitsu / But my horn shalt thou exalt,” 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 25.2×18.1×4.4cm
