SCAI The Bathhouse, Tokyo
We are living in a time machine, currently on view at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE presents a new series of sculptural works by an internationally recognized Japanese artist, Nobuko Tsuchiya. In presenting these works, made after her return to Japan after 10 years of working in London, the exhibition affirms the development of Tsuchiya’s sculptural language through her ongoing experimentation with various materials. Found objects, silicone, felt and other materials in different conditions ranging from new to rusty are assembled by the artist, weaving an abstract world reminiscent of the childhood experience of being drawn into our own imaginations. In fact, the origin of Tsuchiya’s diligent art making can be traced back to her own childhood episodes, in which she remembers spending entire days in the house by herself, playing with household tools such as kettles, spoons and beaters—taking them apart and intuitively re-entwining the parts. In the exhibition, we can still find her curiosity for inventing new forms and stories using the familiar materials around her.
Characterized by its high ceilings, the spacious gallery is host to five sculptures of various sizes laid out like a Zen rock garden. With the large-scale sculpture titled 11th Dimension Project as the centerpiece, the other pieces resonate to create a tranquil ambience that invites us to wander into what the artist suggestively calls the “11th Dimension.” The centerpiece takes a table-like form covered in white silicone, on top of which Tsuchiya has attached assemblages of glass, rusted metal sheets, wire, rope bobbins, scrap pieces of wood and felt of different colors. With a close look, the details of the sculpture vaguely resemble something, but at the same time never exactly represent anything. It’s left to the viewer’s imagination. Tsuchiya’s work suspends the automatic understanding of the “object” by removing semiotic connotations from shapes, materials, and textures thus facilitating viewers’ one-on-one dialogue with what’s in front of them. Though the title We are living in a time machine is suggestive of a greater narrative, we are left alone in the space with no clue how to follow the path set by the artist and find ourselves composing improvised poetry based on personal experiences.
The 11th Dimension Project was initially included in a group exhibition held at ART Tower Mito's Contemporary Art Center in the early spring of 2011. However, during the exhibition period, the art center was severally damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake and the exhibition was discontinued. The current show at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE not only extends the opportunity to present Tsuchiya’s work to a wider range of people, but the exhibition also raises an important question with a subtle yet confident voice. Can we see the world in the same way after seeing hundreds of houses swept away into the sea, ships carried onto buildings and cars stuck vertically in the ground? Our world of once familiar structures and objects was suddenly transformed into a landscape littered with accidental monuments and crumbling symbols.
Facing Tsuchiya’s intricately composed assemblage, we find ourselves absorbed into the quiet passage of time. Discarded materials flee from our expectations and are reduced to their essences. Together, they are reborn as art objects realizing a perfect stillness that poetically remind us that artwork itself does not change, rather it is we who are constantly changing. Art may not directly solve the problems that we face, especially in the wake of disaster, but it does offer us a meditative space in which to recognize and connect our discursive thoughts—allowing us to find the narrative to our own lives.
We are living in a time machine, currently on view at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE presents a new series of sculptural works by an internationally recognized Japanese artist, Nobuko Tsuchiya. In presenting these works, made after her return to Japan after 10 years of working in London, the exhibition affirms the development of Tsuchiya’s sculptural language through her ongoing experimentation with various materials. Found objects, silicone, felt and other materials in different conditions ranging from new to rusty are assembled by the artist, weaving an abstract world reminiscent of the childhood experience of being drawn into our own imaginations. In fact, the origin of Tsuchiya’s diligent art making can be traced back to her own childhood episodes, in which she remembers spending entire days in the house by herself, playing with household tools such as kettles, spoons and beaters—taking them apart and intuitively re-entwining the parts. In the exhibition, we can still find her curiosity for inventing new forms and stories using the familiar materials around her.
Characterized by its high ceilings, the spacious gallery is host to five sculptures of various sizes laid out like a Zen rock garden. With the large-scale sculpture titled 11th Dimension Project as the centerpiece, the other pieces resonate to create a tranquil ambience that invites us to wander into what the artist suggestively calls the “11th Dimension.” The centerpiece takes a table-like form covered in white silicone, on top of which Tsuchiya has attached assemblages of glass, rusted metal sheets, wire, rope bobbins, scrap pieces of wood and felt of different colors. With a close look, the details of the sculpture vaguely resemble something, but at the same time never exactly represent anything. It’s left to the viewer’s imagination. Tsuchiya’s work suspends the automatic understanding of the “object” by removing semiotic connotations from shapes, materials, and textures thus facilitating viewers’ one-on-one dialogue with what’s in front of them. Though the title We are living in a time machine is suggestive of a greater narrative, we are left alone in the space with no clue how to follow the path set by the artist and find ourselves composing improvised poetry based on personal experiences.
The 11th Dimension Project was initially included in a group exhibition held at ART Tower Mito's Contemporary Art Center in the early spring of 2011. However, during the exhibition period, the art center was severally damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake and the exhibition was discontinued. The current show at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE not only extends the opportunity to present Tsuchiya’s work to a wider range of people, but the exhibition also raises an important question with a subtle yet confident voice. Can we see the world in the same way after seeing hundreds of houses swept away into the sea, ships carried onto buildings and cars stuck vertically in the ground? Our world of once familiar structures and objects was suddenly transformed into a landscape littered with accidental monuments and crumbling symbols.
Facing Tsuchiya’s intricately composed assemblage, we find ourselves absorbed into the quiet passage of time. Discarded materials flee from our expectations and are reduced to their essences. Together, they are reborn as art objects realizing a perfect stillness that poetically remind us that artwork itself does not change, rather it is we who are constantly changing. Art may not directly solve the problems that we face, especially in the wake of disaster, but it does offer us a meditative space in which to recognize and connect our discursive thoughts—allowing us to find the narrative to our own lives.
Published in ... might be good (Issue 181, January 13, 2012)