torii series
- Photography (Photography)
Motoyuki Shitamichi
Motoyuki Shitamichi launched his Torii project in 2006. He proceeded to visit and photograph torii that are situated outside Japan’s current national border. Expansionist Japan constructed numerous torii during its occupation of the Northern Mariana Islands (now a U. S. territory), Northeast China (former Manchuria), Taiwan, South Korea, and Sakhalin (the eastern most area of Russia). Shitamichi ’ s work shows that, after World War II, the torii structures and their uses changed to suit local cultures and lifestyles in the respective countries. In Saipan, torii remain intact at cemeteries; those in South Korea have been destroyed and no longer exist. In Taichung City, a torii is laid on its side and used as a park bench. Many of the torii, which represent a symbolic shape in Shintoism, lost their significance. In this way, Shitamichi focuses on how symbolic shapes can be transformed into simple objects. Traditionally torii are considered as barriers (borders) to distinguish the sacred from the secular. In fact, Shitamichi’s torii project is synonymous with his discussions about borders. Torii located outside Japan’s national border look different depending on the historical view, political situation, and culture of respective countries. The difference is attributed not only to the regime and large events such as war, but also to the gradual change in people’s daily lives. As life continues, memories of large events gradually fade due to the accumulation of small events. The consecution of small events transforms the landscape before people realize it. The torii that Shitamichi focuses on in this series encompass the time series in terms of both large historical events and small personal events. He borrows the landscape to provide the audience with opportunities to contemplate upon the visible/invisible, existent/nonexistent borders. In general, the Japanese people are too sensitive or try to distance themselves from issues regarding the national border, territory, and state, because they are not accustomed to focusing on such issues. Shitamichi boldly takes up these issues and quietly upsets the concept of “Japan” or “the Japanese people.” His works reveal relative, fluid, and personal borders that are different from those created by political ideologies or historical objectivity.
After graduating from Musashino Art University in 2001, Shitamichi traveled for four years throughout Japan and took photographs of war remains. The photographs were published in his book Bunkers , published by Littlemore in 2005. Shitamichi feels strongly that seeing and feeling the actual thing is important, which allows him to explore the memory of scenery and to determine what fades away and what stays. He uses photographs, writings, diagrams and maps to illustrate the scenery through the aspects of archeology and presence. His work has been exhibited widely in Japan.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » KADIST
Lucas Blalock
2011Compositions such as Tree on Keystone (2011) become hyperreal versions of their real-world equivalents...
© » KADIST
Antonio Vega Macotela
2022The mines at Potosí are both the site and subject of this work, also titled Potosí, by Antonio Vega Macotela...
© » KADIST
Vandy Rattana
2009Vandy Rattana’s Bomb Ponds series was made following a transformative encounter with the craters left over from 2,756,941 tons of bombs dropped by U...
© » KADIST
Bakudapan Food Study Group
2018Mooi indie (which translates to “Beautiful Indies”) is a term used to depict the beauty of nature in the East Indies during the period of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia...
© » SLASH PARIS
L’œil vérité — Le musée au second degré — MAC VAL Musée d'art contemporain du Val-de-Marne — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook L’œil vérité — Le musée au second degré — MAC VAL Musée d'art contemporain du Val-de-Marne — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour L’œil vérité — Le musée au second degré Exposition Techniques mixtes À venir Roman Cieslewicz, M...
© » KQED
The 2024 Puppy Bowl: Team Fluff, Team Ruff Go Head-to-Head | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer upper waypoint The Do List The 20th Annual Puppy Bowl Pits Team Fluff Against Team Ruff — and Everyone Wins Mark Kennedy, Associated Press Feb 7 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email Some of the adorable participants in this year's Puppy Bowl...
© » KADIST
Nathaniel Dorsky
2010Dorsky’s pieces included in the Kadist Collection are small still photographs from twelve of his most important films...
© » KADIST
Kota Ezawa
2002The Simpson Verdict is a three-minute animation by Kota Ezawa that portrays the reading of the verdict during the OJ Simpson trial, known as the “most publicized” criminal trial in history...
© » KADIST
Jorge González
2017Easy to fold and carry, Jorge González’s Banquetas Chéveres (Chéveres Stools) embody the nomadic and flexible nature of the Escuela de Oficios...
© » ARTS EQUATOR
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (28 January - 3 February 2019) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Weekly To Do January 28, 2019 Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya from 28 January – 3 February 2019 Baron Basuning Studio, together with Galeri National Indonesia, invites you to NOOR, a solo exhibition of Baron Basuning’s works...
© » KADIST
Bady Dalloul
2017The Great Game is a series of works composed of a number of card combinations illustrated by the faces of key political figures shaping the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East...
© » KADIST
Anne Imhof
2013“School of the seven Bells (SOTSB)” is based on a series of hands games in which an object is passed from hand to hand...
© » KADIST
José Castrellón
2016Palo Enceba’o is a project by José Castrellón composed of three photographs, two drawings on metal, and a video work that creates a visual and cultural analogy between the events of January 9th, 1964 in Panama City and the game of palo encebado carried out in certain parts of Panama to celebrate the (US-backed) independence from Colombia...