Exhibition/event has ended.
Shiro Masuyama "Knitting Horn Covers for a Muskox"
Contemporary Art Factory
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Artists
Shiro Masuyama
This work is a video piece produced by Shiro Masuyama during his travels to Alaska and Greenland in 2023, as a new development of the ongoing "Self-Sufficient Life" project, which he has been working on since 2012.
In addition to this exhibition at the Contemporary Art Production House in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, Masuyama's solo exhibition "Assessing the Blind Men's Elephant" will also be held at Tanso Contemporary in Higashiyama Ward. There, videos of projects conducted in India in 2023, involving elephants, will be screened.
The "Self-Sufficient Life" series began as a project to reconsider the nature of modern civilization based on capitalism and consumer society, following the profound impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear accident in 2011. In Ireland, Masuyama used techniques from the declining wool industry to knit sweaters for sheep and put them on the sheep, while in Peru, he sheared alpaca neck hair to make scarves, and in Mongolia, he made saddles using Bactrian camel hair and traveled with the camels. Through the concept of "self-sufficiency," he developed projects in various places, interacting with residents and animals.
In these projects conducted mainly in the "periphery" of contemporary society, the common sense of artist-in-residence experiences in so-called "advanced countries" that Masuyama had experienced hardly applied. In the "Self-Sufficient Life" series, Masuyama meticulously explains his intentions to the local people, who have different languages, cultures, and natural environments, and seeks their understanding and cooperation, while documenting the process with videos. The handheld camera footage may sometimes be shaky, out of focus, or distant in sound, but it serves as a realistic document of the struggles on the scene.
For the production of "Knitting Horn Covers for Wildebeests," Masuyama extended his reach to the Arctic Circle for the first time in search of wild muskoxen, an endangered species. As Masuyama describes it as "the most challenging project ever," the latter part of the work depicts him wandering with three Inuit collaborators in a small boat, searching for wild muskoxen in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. Through the viewing of the video, viewers will re-experience various events and experiences encountered by Masuyama during his journey, including subtle barriers and discrimination between immigrants and indigenous peoples, the contrast between domesticated and wild animals, the impact of economic globalization on traditional cultures and communities, and the essential question of "what am I expressing for?" when faced with the overwhelming scale of nature.
In addition to this exhibition at the Contemporary Art Production House in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, Masuyama's solo exhibition "Assessing the Blind Men's Elephant" will also be held at Tanso Contemporary in Higashiyama Ward. There, videos of projects conducted in India in 2023, involving elephants, will be screened.
The "Self-Sufficient Life" series began as a project to reconsider the nature of modern civilization based on capitalism and consumer society, following the profound impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear accident in 2011. In Ireland, Masuyama used techniques from the declining wool industry to knit sweaters for sheep and put them on the sheep, while in Peru, he sheared alpaca neck hair to make scarves, and in Mongolia, he made saddles using Bactrian camel hair and traveled with the camels. Through the concept of "self-sufficiency," he developed projects in various places, interacting with residents and animals.
In these projects conducted mainly in the "periphery" of contemporary society, the common sense of artist-in-residence experiences in so-called "advanced countries" that Masuyama had experienced hardly applied. In the "Self-Sufficient Life" series, Masuyama meticulously explains his intentions to the local people, who have different languages, cultures, and natural environments, and seeks their understanding and cooperation, while documenting the process with videos. The handheld camera footage may sometimes be shaky, out of focus, or distant in sound, but it serves as a realistic document of the struggles on the scene.
For the production of "Knitting Horn Covers for Wildebeests," Masuyama extended his reach to the Arctic Circle for the first time in search of wild muskoxen, an endangered species. As Masuyama describes it as "the most challenging project ever," the latter part of the work depicts him wandering with three Inuit collaborators in a small boat, searching for wild muskoxen in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. Through the viewing of the video, viewers will re-experience various events and experiences encountered by Masuyama during his journey, including subtle barriers and discrimination between immigrants and indigenous peoples, the contrast between domesticated and wild animals, the impact of economic globalization on traditional cultures and communities, and the essential question of "what am I expressing for?" when faced with the overwhelming scale of nature.
Schedule | Mar 8 (Fri) 2024-Mar 24 (Sun) 2024 Opening Hours Information
Opening Reception Mar 8 (Fri) 2024 19:00 - 21:00 | ||||
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Venue | Contemporary Art Factory https://seisakusyo.exblog.jp/  | ||||
| Location | 518 Hikigi-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 602-0065 | ||||
| Access | 10 minute walk from exit 2 at Imadegawa Station on the Karasuma subway line, 10 minute walk from exit 1 at Kuramaguchi Station on the Karasuma subway line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-5630-3216 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it  |
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