Dresden gate, 2009, laser print, Japanese silk thread, Italian synthetic cloth, pastel,
230 x 170 cm |
Dresden Dream with Y.A.
Kei Takemura
Opening: Saturday, September 5, 2009, 6:00 pm
08.09. - 17.10.2009
Tuesday - Saturday 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm |
On the occasion of its fifth anniversary the gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of Kei Takemura in its new space in Auguststrasse 91.
Takemura presents an installation replicating the temporary apartment of a Japanese dancer (Y.A.), a member of the Forsythe Company and a friend of the artists. Takemura is interested in the sense of place that can be generated in the course of a short stay of the duration of a guest appearance; the possibility of a home away from home. There is a rice cooker that accompanies every tour; a piece of native culture to be preserved wherever one is. This nativity is inscribed into the way we move, it conditions the dancer's style visibly, even in the context of an international ensemble. Takemura focuses on the everyday movements made within the apartment. The first layer of the wall installation consists of photographs of the dancer "going through the motions". This layer is covered over by a sheet of transparent gauze on which details are retraced in the form of embroidery, translating frozen motions back into the movement of embroidering. In the middle of the room are life size drawings of the dancer on transparent paper. The faces of the figures are removable masks, which Takemura will use as props in the performance accompanying the opening.
Kei Takemura lives in Berlin and Tokyo. She is a keen observer of the peculiarities of and differences between the two cultures. Her large-format embroideries, performances and "renovated objects" cite, translate and transform such Japanese traditional genres and techniques as Noh theatre, Husamae (painting on sliding doors) and Kintsugi (Gold lack technique for repairing damaged ceramics and porcelain).
In Japanese culture dance and embroidery are two paths to the gods. Also, in Japanese mythology it was dance that coaxed the sun goddess out of her locked cave after she had shut herself inside in anger at her brother.
Y.A. spent her childhood in a temple in Japan, since her father was a monk. In her most recent installation Kei Takemura makes a connection between this spiritual place and the temporary apartment in Dresden.
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