Chiharu
Shiota filled the gallery space with red yarn. A key is attached to the end of each piece of
yarn suspended from the ceiling. In our daily lives, keys protect valuable
things like our houses, assets, and personal safety. We use them while embracing them in the warmth
of our hands and by coming into contact with people’s warmth on a daily basis,
the keys accumulate countless, multilayered memories that dwell within us. The yarn symbolizes a web of memories. At a certain point we entrust the keys,
packed with memories, to others who we trust to look after the things that are
important to us. She placed two boats on
the floor beneath the yarn and the hanging keys. The boats symbolize two hands
catching a rain of memories (i.e., countless keys) pouring down from the
ceiling.
In total
she collected 180 000 keys and 400 km of red yarn. They come from all over the world. She put boxes in museums around the U.S.A,
Japan and Europe and people donated their keys when she posted an advert in the
Internet as well. Some people wrote a
letter explaining the meaning of their key and others came up to her directly
to hand it in.
"Since
I moved to Germany I have been meeting people from all over the world, so it
was at that point when I began to be aware of my Japanese cultural
background. Searching for this identity
actually helps me create. As a metaphor,
if you put salt into a glass, pour water into it, and then leave it for a few
days, the water evaporates and the salt remains. Long time after, the salt turns into crystal
deposits. So when I lived in Japan, I
felt like being inside that salted water and when I moved to Germany,
everything became crystal clear. Since
then I have gradually become stronger as an artist identity with a clear
perspective."
Good video of exhibit
Chiharu speaks with exhibit background
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