BEYOND CONSCIOUNESS by Chiharu Shiota
Chiharu Shiota is a Japanese artist known for her immersive, complex, and dreamlike installations that often combine intertwined threads, everyday objects, and architectural elements. Her work explores themes such as memory, loss, identity, human connection, and the fragility of life. An exhibition dedicated to her is being held across three exceptional venues in Aix-en-Provence.
In the two immense new installations at the Pavillon Vendôme Museum and the Chapelle de la Visitation, as well as the works displayed at the Tapestry Museum, the key aspects of her work are prominently featured:
1. Threads and Spider Webs: Shiota is particularly recognized for her installations using threads, often black or red, that fill entire spaces, creating dense, labyrinthine webs. These threads symbolize invisible connections, human ties, or the intertwined nature of thoughts and memories.
2. Everyday Objects: In her works, she integrates ordinary objects such as chairs, keys, pianos, or clothing. These objects, placed within the threads, become silent witnesses to the passage of time, collective memory, and the human experience.
3. Themes of Memory and Absence: Shiota’s work is deeply marked by a reflection on memory, presence/absence, and how memories intertwine to form our identity. She often draws inspiration from her own personal experiences, including her battle with a serious illness, to explore these themes.
4. Immersive Experience: Shiota’s installations are designed to be experienced, navigated, or traversed. She invites visitors to lose themselves in these tangled webs of threads, to meditate on their own existence, and to explore the spiritual dimension she infuses into her work.
