Chiharu Shiota, “The Vanished Exhibition — Where to Place These Feelings”
I visited Chiharu Shiota’s solo exhibition “The Vanished Exhibition — Where to Place These Feelings.” The venue was KENJI TAKI GALLERY in Hatsudai.
Held in 2019, Shiota’s solo exhibition “Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles” at Mori Art Museum drew 666,271 visitors, the second-highest attendance in the museum’s history.
Because the traveling exhibition scheduled for 2020 and other planned shows were cancelled due to the impact of COVID-19, the artist incorporated this reality directly into the title, “The Vanished Exhibition — Where to Place These Feelings.”
The centerpiece of the exhibition is a new installation that transforms the daily life of continuing to work in her studio, along with her inner conflicts, into a work based on scenes from her current studio.
A table resembling a studio workbench sits at the center of the gallery. It is covered with scraps of paper bearing the artist’s notes, three-dimensional works, drawings, and various other objects — turning the entire space into a single installation.
Based in Berlin, Shiota was unable to travel to Japan during the pandemic. She reportedly completed the installation remotely via photographs, written instructions, and video calls.
Alongside the installation, the walls presented smaller works — primarily drawings featuring the “thread” motif that frequently appears in Shiota’s practice.
