Exhibition/event has ended.
Ryohei Kan "Based on a True Story"
Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels
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Artists
Ryohei Kan
Ryohei Kan is an artist known for his works that often take the exhibition spaces of museums and galleries as their subject matter. Kan, who has focused on the theme of "void" in his creations, has resided in Germany since 2013. He has been interested in the lineage of void representations in post-war Western art history, which often symbolizes the tragedies and losses of world wars through empty spaces.
After moving to Hiroshima in 2020, Kan shifted his interest to the responses to world wars in the context of post-war art history in Asia, considering the historical significance of Hiroshima, the first city in the world to experience an atomic bomb. In 2021, he began creating the painting series "K 15-30D" using paint from the 5th preservation project of the Atomic Bomb Dome. Kan seeks to explore the contemporary possibilities of art that recalls and conveys post-war history.
This exhibition presents a research project Kan has been working on since 2023, focusing on the atomic bomb diorama mannequins owned by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. These mannequins, representing an adult woman, a female student, and a male child, were part of a diorama that depicted a corner of the city turned to ashes immediately after the atomic bomb explosion. The mannequins, made of plastic and displayed with dramatic lighting effects, were exhibited at the museum from 1991 to 2017, strikingly illustrating the devastating impact of the atomic bomb on humans and cities.
In the renovation plan of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum’s Main Building and East Building, which underwent about four and a half years of renovations starting in 2014, a significant review of the exhibits was conducted. The "Basic Plan for the Exhibition Maintenance, etc., of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum" formulated by Hiroshima City in 2010 indicated the removal of the diorama and mannequins. This led to a debate, known as the "Atomic Bomb Diorama Mannequin Controversy," among citizens and experts from 2013 onwards. Ultimately, considering the aging and decreasing number of atomic bomb survivors, the decision was made to use real artifacts to express the reality of the bombing, leading to the removal of the diorama and mannequins in 2017.
Despite attracting much public attention, the production process of these mannequins remains largely unknown, and it was difficult to observe their details in the diorama exhibit depicting the burning flames. Kan, intrigued by this series of events, decided to investigate these mannequins stored at the museum. He enlisted the help of experts in cultural property preservation and restoration to reveal the surface, interior, structure, and composition of these objects.
Meanwhile, Kan has also focused on the contrast between these atomic bomb diorama mannequins and the painting "The Hiroshima Panels" by Iri and Toshi Maruki. Like the mannequins, "The Hiroshima Panels" depict nearly life-sized figures with burned and peeling skin, attempting to convey the pain of real people. This work has also been the subject of debates similar to the mannequin controversy, with arguments both for and against the depiction of the horrific reality of the atomic bomb and its role in conveying the damage caused by the bomb.
The exhibition's title, "Based on a True Story," is a phrase often seen at the beginning of movies, dramas, or books, meant to evoke empathy from viewers or readers. However, it also carries an ambiguity about how much of the content is based on fact and how much is fictionalized. War often brings unimaginable, overwhelming violence to people. In inheriting the memory of such historical ruptures and deaths, what is the relationship between "documentary" and "fiction?" Are their methodologies to be strictly divided into superiority and inferiority? Through this project of facing the atomic bomb diorama mannequins, Kan aims to prompt a rethinking of methods for inheriting history.
(Note: This exhibition does not include the actual mannequins.)
[Events]
1. Talk Event "Thinking as an Artist in Hiroshima"
Speakers: Ryohei Kan, Yukinori Okamura (Curator, Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels)
Date: Saturday, July 20, 15:00–16:00
2. Talk Event "On the Art of Recollection and Mannequin Representation"
Speakers: Ryohei Kan, Mayumi Kagawa (Professor Emeritus, Musashi University / Representational Culture Theory)
Date: Saturday, September 14, 15:00–16:00
3. Talk Event "Viewing Atomic Bomb Diorama Mannequins from the Perspective of Sculpture History"
Speakers: Ryohei Kan, Takashi Ishizaki (Curator, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art)
Date: Monday, October 14 (National Holiday), 15:00–16:00
*For event details and application methods, please check the official website.
After moving to Hiroshima in 2020, Kan shifted his interest to the responses to world wars in the context of post-war art history in Asia, considering the historical significance of Hiroshima, the first city in the world to experience an atomic bomb. In 2021, he began creating the painting series "K 15-30D" using paint from the 5th preservation project of the Atomic Bomb Dome. Kan seeks to explore the contemporary possibilities of art that recalls and conveys post-war history.
This exhibition presents a research project Kan has been working on since 2023, focusing on the atomic bomb diorama mannequins owned by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. These mannequins, representing an adult woman, a female student, and a male child, were part of a diorama that depicted a corner of the city turned to ashes immediately after the atomic bomb explosion. The mannequins, made of plastic and displayed with dramatic lighting effects, were exhibited at the museum from 1991 to 2017, strikingly illustrating the devastating impact of the atomic bomb on humans and cities.
In the renovation plan of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum’s Main Building and East Building, which underwent about four and a half years of renovations starting in 2014, a significant review of the exhibits was conducted. The "Basic Plan for the Exhibition Maintenance, etc., of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum" formulated by Hiroshima City in 2010 indicated the removal of the diorama and mannequins. This led to a debate, known as the "Atomic Bomb Diorama Mannequin Controversy," among citizens and experts from 2013 onwards. Ultimately, considering the aging and decreasing number of atomic bomb survivors, the decision was made to use real artifacts to express the reality of the bombing, leading to the removal of the diorama and mannequins in 2017.
Despite attracting much public attention, the production process of these mannequins remains largely unknown, and it was difficult to observe their details in the diorama exhibit depicting the burning flames. Kan, intrigued by this series of events, decided to investigate these mannequins stored at the museum. He enlisted the help of experts in cultural property preservation and restoration to reveal the surface, interior, structure, and composition of these objects.
Meanwhile, Kan has also focused on the contrast between these atomic bomb diorama mannequins and the painting "The Hiroshima Panels" by Iri and Toshi Maruki. Like the mannequins, "The Hiroshima Panels" depict nearly life-sized figures with burned and peeling skin, attempting to convey the pain of real people. This work has also been the subject of debates similar to the mannequin controversy, with arguments both for and against the depiction of the horrific reality of the atomic bomb and its role in conveying the damage caused by the bomb.
The exhibition's title, "Based on a True Story," is a phrase often seen at the beginning of movies, dramas, or books, meant to evoke empathy from viewers or readers. However, it also carries an ambiguity about how much of the content is based on fact and how much is fictionalized. War often brings unimaginable, overwhelming violence to people. In inheriting the memory of such historical ruptures and deaths, what is the relationship between "documentary" and "fiction?" Are their methodologies to be strictly divided into superiority and inferiority? Through this project of facing the atomic bomb diorama mannequins, Kan aims to prompt a rethinking of methods for inheriting history.
(Note: This exhibition does not include the actual mannequins.)
[Events]
1. Talk Event "Thinking as an Artist in Hiroshima"
Speakers: Ryohei Kan, Yukinori Okamura (Curator, Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels)
Date: Saturday, July 20, 15:00–16:00
2. Talk Event "On the Art of Recollection and Mannequin Representation"
Speakers: Ryohei Kan, Mayumi Kagawa (Professor Emeritus, Musashi University / Representational Culture Theory)
Date: Saturday, September 14, 15:00–16:00
3. Talk Event "Viewing Atomic Bomb Diorama Mannequins from the Perspective of Sculpture History"
Speakers: Ryohei Kan, Takashi Ishizaki (Curator, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art)
Date: Monday, October 14 (National Holiday), 15:00–16:00
*For event details and application methods, please check the official website.
Schedule | Jul 20 (Sat) 2024-Oct 14 (Mon) 2024 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Adults ¥900; High School and Junior High School Students, Under 18s ¥600; Elementary School Students ¥400; Seniors 60 & Over ¥800 | ||||
| Website | https://marukigallery.jp/7901/ | ||||
| Venue | Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels https://marukigallery.jp/en/ | ||||
| Location | 1401 Shimokarako, Higashimatsuyama-shi, Saitama 355-0076 | ||||
| Access | 12 minutes by taxi from the South exit of Shinrin-koen Station on the Tobu Tojo line; From the East exit of Higashi-Matsuyama Station on the Tobu Tojo line, take the bus and get off at Maruki Bijutsukan Higashi. The venue is 2 minute walk from there. | ||||
| Phone | 0493-22-3266 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it     |
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