Exhibition ARAKI in the Guimet Museum, Paris
Created as a retrospective for one of the most prolific Japanese contemporary photographers, Nobuyoshi Araki, the exhibition has been curated, in over 450 works and 460 publications.
AtoY had completed a scenography which featured large zig-zag walls stood alone and self-supported to maximize the existing space. Studying the volume and the perspective for each titles, the angles of the zig-zag wall gives visitors optical illusion occasionally. 460 books Araki ever published juxtaposed at long stairway wall with awkward angles to create unusual foreshortening.
A to Y is a multidisciplinary unit based in Paris. It was founded in 2014 by the Japanese architects Naori Yamazoe and Chiaki Yatsui and their work varies from architectural project, interior design and scenography. AtoY explores the interaction between art and architecture and their approach is based on a research for the background of artists, art pieces to create a harmonious dialogue between people and the space.
The opening part of the exhibition captures 460 of publications of almost all the books Araki ever made from 1964 to 2016 on the long stairway wall giving the visitors puzzled impression toward the perspective. Exhibiting a large amount of works, zig-zag wall stands alone in the space and created varied volumes. Large printed works are presented in small space and small massed works are exhibiting in large space.
Followed by the introduction to the main themes of Araki's works, the exhibition unfolds thematically, from the series devoted to flowers and the Sentimental Journey illustrating his honeymoon trip in 1971, evolving towards the Winter Journey in 1990, the year of his wife’s death. The zig-zag wall and the angle which punctuates the stories unveil the artist's visions to live gradually then continue to the large printed works such as Tokyo Nude and Kinbaku.
“It’s a way of life. Taking a picture is as natural for me as breathing. The click of the shutter release is like the heartbeat.” Nobuyoshi Araki. Midway through the exhibition shows the density of four series that includes around 60 to 100 photographs in each titles along the curved wall. Visitors are led into a kaleidoscope like space that shows Araki’s atelier at the center of angled mirrors with scattered Polaroid which endlessly last on the base and the ceiling.
The final room was dedicated to ARAKI's works with range of medium occasionally manipulated with calligraphy or painting. A wall installation weighing 370 kg of metal framed transparent ‘’Ektachrome’’ is suspended from the zig-zag wall and it is possible to see through from another side eventually.
The continual line reaches Araki's latest work called ’’Tokyo-Tombeau’’ where a Budda appears in the center surrounded by the photographs taken in Tokyo.
The exposition Araki at the Guimet museum, Paris runs from 13th April to 5th September 2016.
all photo © Juan Jerez
image courtesy of Exhibition Araki, The Guimet Museum, Musée national des arts asiatiques(MNAAG)
axonometric image © AtoY
