Kyoko Takemura's Largest Exhibition: 'Kyoko Takemura: Moving World' Explores the Changing World Through Stitching, from Daily Life to Disaster

Kyoko Takemura has created works that shed new light on objects by the act of 'stitching,' amidst a world shaken by various factors such as the flow of time, movement of people and things, natural disasters, and coincidental events. Starting with her early work 'A.N.'s Living Room, Premonition of Earthquake' (2005)—which explored forms of preservation that could withstand earthquakes by capturing a friend's happy life life-size and sewing parts of it—her works include two-dimensional pieces combining photos and drawings with layered embroidery, three-dimensional works performing unique 'restorations' by wrapping broken daily objects in cloth along the lost parts, and the 'Time counter' series, which expresses the flow of time and interaction with the world through meticulous stitching. Her interest has consistently been to 'temporarily pin' personal memories and events into her work, connecting each existence from the present to the future.

In this, her largest solo exhibition to date, starting from her representative works of the 2000s, the exhibition will delve into themes of memory and loss, and the irreversibility of time and acts. It will feature groups of works subjected to 'restoration,' new installations themed on 'natural disasters' and 'restoration,' and workshops held in Mito city where participants can think about and practice the meaning of 'restoration.'

Today's world is in an unstable state where values and truth are easily inverted, and we are puzzled about how to face reality. Whether the world is supported by transformation or universality, what do we accept and what do we pass on in the transition of past, present, and future? This exhibition will serve as an opportunity to think together about how to face events and their memories through Takemura's works, which continue to respond to a shaking world.

1. Largest Solo Exhibition by Contemporary Artist Kyoko Takemura

Born in Tokyo in 1975, Kyoko Takemura has turned her eyes to existences that are likely to be buried in oblivion and elimination, such as broken objects, lost places, and personal memories, creating works that give them new light through the act of 'stitching.' Inspired by an encounter with the 'Tenjukoku Mandara Shucho,' considered the oldest embroidery work in Japan, she has developed a unique expression combining the act of sewing with silk thread with drawings, photographs, and found objects. In a modern society where globalization and information technology are accelerating, she has pursued production rooted in familiar people and events, gaining high acclaim on international stages, including the '15th Biennale of Sydney' (2006).

Since returning to Japan in 2015, she has presented works at major museums and international exhibitions, such as the Pola Museum of Art (2018), The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma (2019), and 'Yokohama Triennale 2020'. She has also engaged in programs communicating with visitors through physical and sensory interactions, such as 'CONNECT⇄＿ A program to enjoy with physical sensations: Kyoko Takemura 'Floating on the River'' (2021–2022) at The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.

This exhibition introduces her diverse practices, including two-dimensional, three-dimensional, installation, and performance works, through representative and new pieces from the early 2000s to the present. In the two new works created for this exhibition, one can see a new expansion of her expression where themes such as 'memory,' 'restoration,' 'disaster,' and 'home' organically intersect. Please pay attention to Takemura's creation, which continues to face the ever-shaking world, from trivial daily changes to natural disasters, through the extremely physical act of sewing with her own hands.

2. Two New Works Facing a Shaking World

This exhibition presents two new works on the theme of 'earthquakes.'

The new work 'May i enter?, all things move' is a performance and installation featuring suspended glass windows in the exhibition room. Starting from anecdotes of the ancient 'memory palace' memory technique, this work focuses on the Japanese climate adjacent to disasters, and the activities of destruction and regeneration, and development and repetition that occur within it. While inheriting themes treated in past works, this piece shows a new expansion of Takemura's expression.

Another new work focuses on black roof tiles discarded in the wake of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. It is said that Noto's tiles, which protected people's lives in harsh natural environments, were lost in large quantities not only due to falling during the earthquake, but also in the process of dismantling houses and rebuilding cities after the disaster. While focusing on these conflicts accompanying disasters, Takemura sheds light on their existence by performing 'restoration' on the tiles using fluorescent silk, while questioning the irreversibility of such acts.