Large Heart No. 49 (Rasen Kaigan series)

2009 - Photography (Photography)

120 x 180 cm

Lieko Shiga


Lieko Shiga’s photographs appear like dreamscapes. They gain much of their visual power from the unusual interplay between light and color, and the way in which her motifs often seem to defy physical laws such as gravity. She often photographs nocturnal landscapes that are both enchanted and haunted, invoking an emotionally and psychologically complex, contemporary inner landscape, as well as the ancient relations between mysticism, spirituality, and folklore, specifically invoking Japanese traditions and beliefs, while at the same time transforming them. The series Rasen Kaigan was created together with residents of the coastal town Kitakami in Japan’s Tohoku region. This area was severely affected by the tsunami in 2011. Over the course of four years, Shiga acted as the city’s official photographer. The works in this series do not portray the disaster in any way, but rather explore a different kind of reality, in which the present exists only in dialogue with the past and with the spirits of the land. Unlike many other contemporary photographers, Shiga captures invisible realities while at the same time invoking the artistic legacies of Surrealism, Land art, sculpture, and experimental film. Her photos also recall earlier works such as Masatoshi Naito’s photographs of Japanese folklore. Shiga depicts the contemporaneous reality of the modern and the non-modern, and gives visual expression to this tense and complex condition, while also making us feel, while looking at her images, that we, as subjects of modernity, stand on unstable and, ultimately, haunted ground.


Based on an instinctive feeling of unease with the convenience and automation of daily life, Lieko Shiga has developed an artistic approach that links questions about the nature of the photographic medium with fundamental questions about life and the means of expressing oneself. The artist’s photographs integrate her personal experiences with grander mythologies turning them into surreal and fantastical scenarios. She also introduces streaks of light and energy trails to the surface of her images, facilitating and revealing an even greater intrusion by the photographer. In the artist’s recent works, the documentary and the staged photography is actively combined in a very expressive mode, and she deploys technical tricks which often result in uncanny spiritual images. Though the works often have a haunting presence, the images reflect recent catastrophic experiences in Japanese society. There is a unique enchantment in her works, resonating with an unruly native spirituality, mysticism, and folklore, especially invoking Japanese traditions and beliefs, while transforming them at the same time.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette

To the Cardinal Gods: Central Axial Consecration (Site 6)
© » KADIST

Ren Zi

To the Cardinal Gods: Central Axial Consecration (Site 6) is from a 2017 series made by Ren Zi during a residency in the Arctic Circle...

Artists Install AR Pig on UK buildings exposing links to harmful industrial food system
© » FAD MAGAZINE

Artists Install AR Pig on UK buildings exposing links to harmful industrial food system - FAD Magazine Skip to content By Mark Westall • 29 November 2023 Share — A virtual, female pig has appeared on top of Barclays’ Canary Wharf HQ, two Tesco stores in London and Liverpool, DEFRA and other locations in a new experimental augmented reality (AR) app created by artists, Naho Matsuda and collective A Drift of Us...

25
© » KADIST

Vuth Lyno

2018

25 by Vuth Lyno addresses the legacy of the UN’s 1992-93 peacekeeping operation in Cambodia (UNTAC)...

Table des matières “Marcel Duchamp, pour et contre”
© » ARTPRESS

Table des matières "Marcel Duchamp, pour et contre" X 30 octobre 2023 Dans 50 ans d’art contemporain , AP Print Table des matières “Marcel Duchamp, pour et contre” > COMMANDER LE VOLUME 4 Avant-propos Catherine Millet 8 Sa vie, ses œuvres 9 Marcel Duchamp...

How LGBTQ+ Hip-Hop Artists Found Their Voices and Changed Culture
© » KQED

How LGBTQ+ Hip-Hop Artists Found Their Voices and Changed Culture | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer That's My Word How LGBTQ+ Hip-Hop Artists Found Their Voices and Changed Culture Nastia Voynovskaya Dec 6 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Facebook Share-FB Twitter Share-Twitter Email Share-Email Copy Link Copy Link Tupac, Queen Latifah and Page Hodel at Hodel's LGBTQ+ party, The Box, in the early '90s...

‘I got the sense the youngest child would always win’: sibling relationships – in pictures
© » THE GUARDIAN

‘I got the sense the youngest child would always win’: sibling relationships – in pictures | Photography | The Guardian Skip to main content Skip to navigation Skip to navigation Lucie and Rémi recreate a family meal...

“Modern Land” by Artist Madeline Rupard
© » BOOOOOOOM

"Modern Land" by Artist Madeline Rupard Submit Born in the Utah desert, artist Madeline Rupard spent her formative years in Silver Spring, Maryland and Augusta, Georgia...

“In Time To Come” at LumiNation 2019
© » ARTS EQUATOR

"In Time To Come" at LumiNation 2019 | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles August 1, 2019 We asked our readers what they would put in a time capsule...

Bernice Akamine & Abraham Cruzvillegas
© » KADIST

Saturday, June 16 3 to 5pm, with works on view through June 23 In collaboration with the Honolulu Biennial Foundation , KADIST presents a capsule exhibition and conversation with Bernice Akamine and Abraham Cruzvillegas, participating artists of the Honolulu Biennial 2019...

“Au bout de mes rêves” Vanhaerents Art Collection
© » ARTPRESS

"Au bout de mes rêves" Vanhaerents Art Collection - artpress X 11 octobre 2023 Dans AP Web , arts visuels “Au bout de mes rêves” Vanhaerents Art Collection Par Dominique Moulon...

ArtsEquator, Deadline Now
© » ARTS EQUATOR

ArtsEquator, Deadline Now | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles September 2, 2020 by Kathy Rowland ArtsEquator sometimes feels like a mythical creature...

É Noite na América (It is Night in America)
© » KADIST

Ana Vaz

2022

Ana Vaz describes her film É Noite na América (It is Night in America) as an eco-terror tale, freely inspired by A cosmopolitics of animals by Brazilian philosopher Juliana Fausto; in which she investigates the political life of non-human beings and questions the modern idea of the exceptionality of the human species...

ArtsEquator is Hiring: Part-time Editorial and Marketing Assistant (Regionally-based)
© » ARTS EQUATOR

We're Hiring! Editorial and Marketing Assistant (Regionally-based) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Viewpoints January 11, 2022 ArtsEquator Ltd...

M1 Open Stage + DiverCity: Chiew Peishan and Liu Wen-Chun
© » ARTS EQUATOR

M1 Open Stage + DiverCity - Contact Contemporary Dance Festival Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles June 27, 2018 This year, with an increased number of international programme collaborators, M1 Open Stage features innovative and exhilarating works by a diverse range of dance artists over two nights...

Charming Photo of Polar Bear Napping on an Iceberg Wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award
© » MODERN MET PHOTOGRAPHY

Polar Bear Napping on an Iceberg Wins People's Choice Award Home / Photography / Photo Contest Charming Photo of Polar Bear Napping on an Iceberg Wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award By Jessica Stewart on February 8, 2024 “Ice Bed” by Nima Sarikhani, UK...

Telegrams
© » KADIST

Telegrams An Online Video Exhibition curated by Monica Narula, artist and curator with Raqs Media Collective...

Why are we going to Brunei?
© » KADIST

Following the Asian Art Museum’s public event, Lessons on the Far East , the HonourableEast India Institute (HEII) launches its latest project, Why are we going to Brunei? at Kadist Art Foundation...

Crafted Elegance: Hendrick’s Gin And Artist Boris De Beijer Unveil Limited Edition Cocktail Glasses
© » IGNANT

Crafted Elegance: Hendrick’s Gin And Artist Boris De Beijer Unveil Limited Edition Cocktail Glasses - IGNANT Words: IGNANT magazine Photographer: Clemens Poloczek Name Boris De Beijer Images Clemens Poloczek Words IGNANT magazine Hendrick’s Gin has joined forces with artist and glassblower Boris de Beijer for an exclusive partnership as part of this year’s festive campaign...

Happy Lunar New Year! 5 Things to Know About the Year of the Dragon
© » KQED

Happy Lunar New Year! 5 Things to Know About the Year of the Dragon | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer upper waypoint Arts & Culture Happy Lunar New Year! 5 Things to Know About the Year of the Dragon Rae Alexandra Feb 9 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email The Year of the Dragon begins is upon us...