Chiharu Shiota: Between Worlds

Chiharu Shiota's solo exhibition “Between Worlds,” organized on Istanbul Modern’s invitation as part of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Türkiye, centers on the artist's sense of being “somewhere in between.” In shaping the exhibition’s conceptual framework, Shiota draws on Istanbul's location between Asia and Europe. She is also inspired by Istanbul Modern's location in Karaköy, one of the city’s busiest districts and home to its historic, centuries-old harbor. The artist weaves a connection between the ships docking and departing from the harbor, the passengers traveling on these ships, their stories, and her own migration story.

In her installation at Istanbul Modern, the artist wraps the entire gallery with web-like red threads and places the suitcases inside this intricate mass, emphasizing the theme of “presence in the absence.” Red, the color most frequently used by the artist, represents the flow of blood and life coursing through veins, metaphorically connecting people, emotions, and memories. Each suitcase represents an individual from the artist’s perspective. Tied together with red threads, these suitcases create a visual narrative that makes the viewer question both personal and collective themes such as home, belonging, and identity. In this manner, Shiota weaves concepts of time, space, movement, and memory into her installations, and invites the viewers to engage both physically and emotionally to complete their experience. Beyond the objects they carry, suitcases also serve as conveyors of symbols, carrying emotions and memories, bridging the past and the future.

Drawing inspiration from Istanbul's cosmopolitan identity and the artist's own migration story, “Between Worlds” constructs a contemplative space that invites viewers to reflect on their own lives, memories, and relationships within the broader universal context of humanity. Thus, Shiota’s universe of threads is not only visually captivating but also an invitation to delve into the labyrinth of one's inner world.

Curator: Öykü Özsoy Sağnak
Assistant Curator: Yazın Öztürk

About the artist:

Born in Osaka in 1972 and based in Berlin, Chiharu Shiota has redefined the concept of memory and consciousness by collecting ordinary objects such as shoes, keys, beds, chairs, and dresses, and engulfing them in immense thread structures. Shiota explores this sensation of a “presence in the absence” with her installations but also presents intangible emotions in her sculptures, drawings, performance videos, photographs, and canvases.

In 2008, she was awarded with “the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists, Japan” and in 2024, she was honored with “The Japan Foundation Award”, presented since 1973.

Her work has been displayed at international institutions worldwide including the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, USA (2023); Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art (QAGoMA), Brisbane, Australia  (2022); ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe, Germany (2021); Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington (2020); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2019); Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany (2019); Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (2018); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK (2018); Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China (2017); K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany (2015); Smithsonian Institution Arthur M.Sackler Gallery, Washington DC, USA (2014); the Museum of Art, Kochi, Japan (2013); and the National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan (2008) among others. She has also participated in numerous international exhibitions such as the Aichi Triennale, Japan (2022); Oku-Noto International Art Festival, Japan (2017); Sydney Biennale, Australia (2016); Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, Japan (2009) and Yokohama Triennale, Japan (2001). In 2015, Shiota was selected to represent Japan at the 56th Venice Biennale.

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Image: 

Chiharu Shiota, In Circles, 2024 (detail)
Photo: © Gana Art, Los Angeles
Courtesy of the artist and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn