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
© » 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...
© » 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...
© » SLASH PARIS
Natalia Jaime-Cortez — Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine — Espace d’art contemporain Camille Lambert — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook Natalia Jaime-Cortez — Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine — Espace d’art contemporain Camille Lambert — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour Précédent Suivant Natalia Jaime-Cortez — Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine Exposition Dessin, installations, techniques mixtes Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine 2023 Natalia Jaime-Cortez Natalia Jaime-Cortez Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine Encore environ 2 mois : 3 février → 30 mars 2024 Le travail de Natalia Jaime-Cortez se déploie, ou plutôt se déplie, et relève d’un engagement corporel de l’artiste dont les papiers suspendus viennent dessiner des lignes dans l’espace...
© » KADIST
Ghita Skali
2020The Hole’s Journey by Ghita Skali follows a complex political satire involving a worn-out floor, a political activist, and the Ouled Sbita tribe of Morocco...
© » 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...
© » SLASH PARIS
Ça pourrait être mieux — Analix Forever Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Ça pourrait être mieux — Analix Forever Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Previous Next Ça pourrait être mieux Exhibition Film, installation, lithography / engraving, books.....
© » SLASH PARIS
Natalia Jaime-Cortez — Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine — Espace d’art contemporain Camille Lambert — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Natalia Jaime-Cortez — Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine — Espace d’art contemporain Camille Lambert — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Previous Next Natalia Jaime-Cortez — Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine Exhibition Drawing, installation, mixed media Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine 2023 Natalia Jaime-Cortez Natalia Jaime-Cortez Hier j’ai vu une baleine dans la Seine Ends in about 2 months: February 3 → March 30, 2024 Le travail de Natalia Jaime-Cortez se déploie, ou plutôt se déplie, et relève d’un engagement corporel de l’artiste dont les papiers suspendus viennent dessiner des lignes dans l’espace...
© » KADIST
Randa Maddah
2012A woman meticulously tidies up the room of a ruined house in the village of Ain Fit in the occupied Syrian Golan...
