CAI GUO-QIANG’s massive Bonsai Ship (2017) repurposes a previous work by the artist from a pond in Nara made for the Culture City of East Asia exhibition in 2016. The traditional Chinese vessel has been reconstructed at Nijo Castle, turning into a giant pot for five pine trees. Photo by Koroda Takeru.

Aug 22 2017

Highlights from Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition 2017

by Peter Augustus Owen

A collaborative effort by the governments of China, Japan and South Korea, the Culture City of East Asia project was first implemented in 2014 to deepen cultural awareness and understanding across the region, while promoting tourism to each of the three countries. This year, in addition to Changsha in China and Daegu in South Korea, the historic Japanese city of Kyoto has been selected to showcase the wealth of contemporary art from the project’s member states.

The Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition 2017, led by artistic director Tatehata Akira, with support from assistant director Yamamoto Mayumi and curator Tokuyama Hirokazu, presented work by 25 artists, including China’s Yang Fudong, Japan’s Yayoi Kusama and Ito Zon, and South Korea’s Choi Jeonghwa. Housed in Nijo Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Kyoto Art Center, a former elementary school that is over 100 years old, more than half of the work was site-specific, created for this exhibition. Here are the highlights.

LU YANG designed the 20-meter-long Lu Yang Gong Tau Kite (2016), based on her own face, with the artist’s long, black hair trailing along like tails or tentacles, and presented a music video to accompany footage of the flight, depicting the giant squid-like object dancing in the wind. The project is a critique on ego, social media and our desire for self-recognition. All photos by Peter Augustus Owen for ArtAsiaPacific unless otherwise stated.

For ITO ZON’s embroidery on fabric, Things Become Clear Outside (2017), the artist “painted” one work with sugar water, inviting ants and some other guests to become part of the living sculpture.

CHOI JEONGHWA had several of his signature inflatable works on display throughout Nijo Castle, including Breathing Flower (808 characters) (2016, pictured above) and Fruit Tree (2015).

CHOI JEONGHWA’s Nirvana (2017) is a gigantic, inflatable radish created for the exhibition, modeled after a scroll painting by the 18th-century Japanese artist Ito Jakuchu that depicts the root vegetable.

MISHIMA RITSUE’s Light is Always There (2017) was created in collaboration with traditional glass blowers in Venice, and includes 600 items that float on the surface of the moat surrounding Nijo Castle. The glass pieces are tethered to the moat’s floor, meant to catch and refract the intense summer sunlight from varying angles, completely changing the viewing experience throughout the day.

YAYOI KUSAMA’s Statue of Venus Obliterated by Infinity Nets (Y) (1998) was presented at Nijo Castle.

In HAM KYUNGAH’s UnCamoflage Series 01 to 05 (2016), the artist dissects traditional camouflage patterns to create amoeba-like sculptures which were created to make the “invisible, visible.”

YANG FUDONG created the film Moving Mountains in 2016 as an interpretation of the Chinese folktale The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains with a beautiful visual style influenced by 20th-century painter Xu Beihong.

A collaboration between HORIO SADAHARU and fan club ON-SITE ART SQUAD KUKI, a former dance studio inside the Kyoto Art Center was transformed with items from Horio’s daily coloring routine and artworks made from “junk.” The installation is titled Atarimae-no-koto – Paint Placement and so on (2017). As part of Asia Corridor’s programming, the group will also stage performances at Nijo Castle and the Art Center.

NAKAHARA KODAI’s Educational (1963–77/2016/2017) is an installation of the artist’s creative development from elementary school through middle school, and features recreations produced during his high school days of early childhood work. Even in these works produced during the artist’s youth, there were hints of elements developed later on that influenced the likes of Takashi Murakami.

Peter Augustus Owen is the Tokyo-based publisher of ArtAsiaPacific.

This year’s Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition is on view until October 15, 2017.

To read more of ArtAsiaPacific’s articles, visit our Digital Library.