Exhibition/event has ended.
Shaping Voices, Silent Skies
Shibuya Hikarie 8/ Art gallery
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Artists
Miti Ruangkritya, Sarah Abu Abdallah
This exhibition marks the tenth occasion that the Backers Foundation and AIT have partnered on a joint residency program that invites international artists to Tokyo, this year welcoming Miti Ruangkritya from Thailand, and Sarah Abu Abdallah from Saudi Arabia to present their past works for the first time in Japan, in addition to new works created during their stay in Tokyo. Working mainly with photography and images from the Internet, Bangkok-based Miti Ruangkritya focuses on the environmental changes caused by rapid development that have occurred in urban areas of Thailand in recent years, in addition to the desires of city dwellers, and the tumult, silence and other shifting moods of the city itself. In “Imagining Flood” (2011), one of the artist’s representative works, Ruangkritya presents a disquieting night-time scene of Bangkok, whose streets appear silent and deserted. Filmed on a day when the capital suffered damage from flooding, it heightens the strangeness of the city and the fear of nature to an almost fantastical level. In recent years Sarah Abu Abdallah, a young artist from Saudi Arabia who has gained attention participating in international exhibitions such as the Sharjah Biennale 11 (2013), has produced video works that incorporate thought processes particular to painting, the field in which she trained. In the video work “Saudi Automobile” (2012), the figure of Abu Abdallah is filmed as she silently applies whitish-pink paint to an abandoned car. As reflected in the artist’s comment, “This wishful gesture was the only way I could get myself a car,” the work reveals the artist’s focus of attention: the gender norms of a nation where women are prohibited to drive cars. Although both artists sense the illusions generated by globalized cities and societies, and the realities that lie behind them, their work expresses quiet criticism rather than conflict. While reflecting the social situation in which we find ourselves, their expressions reveal an attitude that consciously avoids integration into political and gender stereotypes. In addition to their previous works shown here in Japan for the first time, this exhibition will present Ruangkritya’s new work superimposing images of urban development in Bangkok with those of Tokyo, and Shibuya in particular where development is visibly advancing, in order to suggest a hidden sense of anxiety toward environment pollution that such urbanization may cause, while Abu Abdallah has conceived dreamscapes inspired by Japanese anime and manga.
Schedule | Jul 1 (Sat) 2017-Jul 17 (Mon) 2017 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||
| Venue | Shibuya Hikarie 8/ Art gallery http://www.hikarie.jp/8/en/  | ||
| Location | 8F Shibuya Hikarie, 2-21-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002 | ||
| Access | Direct walk from exit B5 at Shibuya Station on the Fukutoshin and Hanzomon lines or Tokyu Den-en-toshi line, Direct walk from the 2nd floor passageway of Shibuya Station on the JR or Keio line. | ||
| Phone | 03-6434-1493 | ||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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