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Focus: Japan part III

Can contemporary art in Japan transcend its Galápagos Syndrome

M-KOS sends sincere commiserations to all the people affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

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Tabaimo “teleco-soup” (2011) Installation view at Japanese Pavillion, the 54th Venice Biennale. Courtesy of the artist, Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo and James Cohan Gallery in New York

At the 54th Venice Biennale, the Japanese pavilion is presenting Tabaimo, a 36-years-old Japanese artist who’s work is renown for uncanny and hypnotic animations of manga and ‘anime’ inspired Ukiyo-esque imagery. Her installation entitled “teleco-soup” is a circular piece surrounding the viewer from floor to ceiling, with moving images of Japanese towns and flowing water. In its centre, the installation features a well-shaped circle also projected onto with similar animations. “teleco-soup” evokes an inside-out inversion between water and sky, fluid and container, self and the world, a term developed from the original concept of “Transcending Galápagos Syndrome” initiated by this year’s Japanese commissioner, Yuka Uematsu. Tabaimo refers further to the proverb “A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean”, attributed to Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, and adds this to the Japanese expression “But it knows the height of the sky”, as a lateral way to speak about her work. The latter articulates an outward manifestation of Tabaimo’s introspective gaze, and by extension, reflects on Japan’s island state of mind, isolationist in nature, and its multiple-century era of seclusion from all foreign contacts*.
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Focus: Japan part II

An Uncertain Future- Art after the Great East Japan Earthquake

M-KOS sends sincere commiserations to all the people affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Art charity event organized by Artists’ Action for Japan in Ibaraki prefecture, May 2011. Courtesy of Artists’ Action For Japan

The art scene in Japan has been changing dramatically since the recent chain of catastrophic events – the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant meltdown – which filled news networks around the world. These particularly devastated the Tohoku area, the seacoast areas of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, five national heritage sites were affected, such as the Zuigan-ji Temple in the Miyagi Prefecture, as well as damaging 143 important cultural properties. The well-known Rokkakudō temple, a hexagonal wooden retreat constructed in 1905 was swept off in the gigantic tsunami that occurred in the Izura coast, in the Ibaraki prefecture. This small yet historical architecture was constructed by Tenshin Okakura (1863-1913), a key contributor to the development of the arts in Japan. Responsible for the conservation of this temple, Ibaraki University has set up funds for reconstructing a new Rokkakudō. They have already started collecting building materials left ashore by the sea. The university states: ‘we are convinced that Restoration of Rokkakudo would be a symbol of revival from the earthquake and tsunami’.
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Focus: Japan part I

Contemporary art in Japan – new challenges in the land of the rising sun

M-KOS sends sincere commiserations to all the people affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Nobuyoshi Araki “Koki No Shashin (Photographs of A Seventy Year Old)” (2010) Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery via Yokohama Triennale website

Almost five months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake devastated the northern east coast of Japan. Still in the midst of recovery, the country is fraying with an unprecedented nuclear crisis as well as support infrastructures towards people and business affected in the disaster.

Japanese people are well known for demonstrating a strong solidarity in times of need, and the sphere of contemporary art has contributed in this relief effort. Numerous art galleries and museums organised charity auctions*, artists initiated special projects in support of refugee communities, and countless other initiatives have been recorded. Japan’s current social condition is in everyone’s mind and, needless to say, contemporary art is facing new challenges in the land of the rising sun.

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Focus: East Asia – China (Hong Kong)

South Ho Siu Nam “Into Light XIV” (2011) Courtesy of the artist and Blindspot Gallery

Art Hong Kong 2011 has succeeded its extravaganza and now closed triumphantly, as the world anticipated. The fair demonstrated an increase in achievements beyond the mercantile with special events to engage and reflect on the Asian region. Asia One for instance provided a platform for emerging talents of the widely diverse Asian terrain. Many talks and discussions were also programmed such as the ‘Backroom Conversations” by Asia Arts Archive, ‘Guerrilla Talk’ by ArtAsiaPacific and ‘New Media Archaeology’ by Videotage, in order to disseminate art from Asia to a wider audience.

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Focus: East Asia – China (Beijing/Shanghai/Guangzhou) [Updated!]

Shao Yinong and Mu Chen “Spring and Autumn – 1990 100 Chinese Note (Four leaders)” (2004-2010) Silk, silk thread. Courtesy of the artists and 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong. Photo: Singapore Art Museum

Chinese contemporary art is rising in quality and quantity, becoming a protagonist on the international artistic stage, according to Italian art critic Achille Bonito Oliva. China made a remarkable transformation during the past three decades, with changes expressed most strongly and dramatically in visual arts.
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Focus: East Asia

Are individual freedom and free market part of the same equation?

This week M-Kos welcomes the opening of Art Hong Kong 2011 (AHK2011) and takes this opportunity to focus on a series of articles about contemporary art in East Asia, introducing museums, galleries and artists in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Ai Weiwei “Fairytale” (2007) Courtesy of Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Erlenmeyer Stiftung Switzerland, Leister Foundation Switzerland

Art Hong Kong 2011 kicks off from Thursday 26 May until Sunday 29 May, amid protest over detention of Ai Weiwei by the Chinese authorities. The world, and especially the cultural sphere, prompted spontaneous petitions, sit-ins, rallys, as well as many exhibitions in his defense, held since his arrest on 3rd April. The Tate Modern has put up the words “Release Ai Weiwei” on top of its museum facade. Ai’s work “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads” were displayed both in New York City and Somerset House in London. In Berlin, Neugerriemschneider gallery is currently exhibiting his works entitled “Rock” (2011) and “Tree”(2011). The gallery front of Neugerriemschneider adorns a huge banner created by the artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, calling out “WHERE IS AI WEIWEI ?” Lisson Gallery, which represents him in London, also put up a huge ‘Free Ai Weiwei’ campaign banner for the opening of his exhibition on 11 May. In Paris, the artist Anish Kapoor dedicated his latest work “Leviathan” (2011) for Monumenta 2011 at the Grand Palais to Ai. In Hong Kong, which has its own separate legal system, dozens of supporters carried chairs to Victoria park to form the Chinese character “囚”（Prison), a gesture inspired by Ai’s installation “Fairytale” (2007). Dozens of people gathered for “1,001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei” held both in New York and Toronto. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego organized a 24-hour sit-in inspired by Ai’s work “Marble Chair” (2010), two of which to be acquired by the museum. Countless more tales of worldwide support for him can be found.

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