Parade - a Drip, a Drop, the End of the Tale
The transience and impermanence of the kinetic sculptures of Yuko Mohri, a renowned Japanese artist.
Ecosystems composed of kinetic and sound sculptures that are part of Yuko Mohri (2021-08-31/2021-11-14) by Japan House São PauloJAPAN HOUSE São Paulo
Yuko Mohri’s unprecedented solo exhibition,
‘Parade – a Drip, a Drop, the End of the Tale,' presents delicate, yet powerful installations that create ecosystems composed of kinetic and sound sculptures and address ideas such as transience and impermanence, co
The beauty of everyday objects
The Parade and Moré Moré installations exalt the Japanese philosophy of [you no bi], bringing new meaning to common objects and utensils in her works, highlighting the beauty in the ordinary.
From the Japanese philosopher Soetsu Yanagi (1889-1961), the concept [you no bi] values the ‘beauty of everyday objects.’
The Parade installation
The delicate balance in the works of the young artist, who currently teaches at the Tokyo University of Arts, is the result of years of research in collaboration with professionals from different areas.
Parade consists of a machine the artist developed with the help of engineers that is based on an open-source electronic prototyping card that reads the drawings of a tablecloth printed with colorful fruits.
But how so?
JHSP explains:
The images are translated into electrical currents that travel along several wires, causing unexpected reactions like a light that turns on and off, dusters that bounce on the floor, an accordion that seems to take on a life of its own.
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The various objects that make up the work are the result of collections Yuko made around the world.
This ecosystem the artist created was inspired by the botanical garden that Yuko used to frequent as a child, where she observed the semi-artificial nature and its transformation at different times of the year.
The Moré Moré installation
Also within the issues involving impermanence and transience, recurring themes in her trajectory, the work incorporates elements from the Moré Moré series,
in which Yuko purposely causes leaks, then tries to block them and cause water to circulate again through the damaged system
From ordinary to extraordinary
The idea came from the artist’s photographic records of frequent water leaks in the Tokyo subway, in 2009. The teams at the affected stations used a variety of containers, among which bottles, buckets, umbrellas, and pipes to contain the flow.
While observing this event, the artist was inspired to create her own sculptures, which became increasingly elaborate over the years.
Parade - a Drip, a Drop, the End of the Tale,' on the wall of the Japan House São Paulo exhibition space. (2021-08-31/2021-11-14) by Japan House São PauloJAPAN HOUSE São Paulo
A tribute to Tom Jobim’s composition
“Parade (a Drip, a Drop, the End of the Tale)” is the artist’s reinterpretation of her own work, a tropicalized version based on the relationship she established between the objects in her installation and the lyrics of the famous song.
Natasha Barzaghi Geenen, Japan House São Paulo’s Cultural Director and curator of the individual exhibit, says:
“Yuko’s projects explore ideas of energy and intangible force, investigate gravity, magnetism, and light as factors of perceptible presence in previously unoccupied spaces. The idea is to cause curiosity and wonder, with objects removed from their primary functions and sewn together in a poetic web, valued in this spatial collage, making us more aware of our surroundings.”
About Yuko Mohri
Responsible for the exhibition, the artist, who was also invited to the 34th São Paulo Biennial, is gaining increasing recognition on the artistic circuit and has already presented her works in Japan, France, and England, as well as Brazil.
In 2015 she was awarded the grand prize at the ‘Nissan Art Award’ and, in 2016, the ‘Culture and Future Prize’ at the ‘Kanagawa Culture Award.’ The following year, she was granted the Best Young Artist Award of the Japanese government’s “67th Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts.”
In 2018, she was chosen to be the Japanese representative of the Japanese government’s Cultural Affairs Agency’s Cultural Exchange Program for East Asia, when she spent some time in China.
Japan House São Paulo
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Bela Vista - São Paulo/SP
Phone: +55 11 3090-8900
