chiharu shiota weaves 'cloud of thoughts' within the atrium at gropius bau

from now through until june 16, 2019, berlin’s gropius bau is investigating the concept of craft and handmade processes in the city’s contemporary art scene, taking its history as a former museum for decorative arts as a starting point. curated by natasha ginwala und julienne lorz, ‘and berlin will always need you’ sheds light on artists’ practices in the city, with an an evocative series of existing and commissioned works that engage with traditional methods of production, aesthetics and materiality. as part of the show, artist chiharu shiota presents a monumental installation ‘beyond memory’, which infills the institution’s colossal atrium.

image by sunhi mang, courtesy of chiharu shiota

within the atrium at gropius bau, chiharu shiota has created a ‘cloud of thoughts, and connections, binding the viewer to the past and the future,’ the artist describes. the installation can be viewed from two dimensions — either from the ground floor looking up, or from the upper floor balcony looking outwards, which is accessible to the public free of charge. mixed within the all-white strands of woven material are paper ephemera, printed black and white pictures, leaflets, and pages torn from books. ‘the white yarn is timeless,’ shiota continues, ‘I do not think time is something linear but has rather a circular notion.’

image by mathias völzke, courtesy of die künstlerin & VG bild-kunst, bonn 2019

image by mathias völzke, courtesy of die künstlerin & VG bild-kunst, bonn 2019

image by sunhi mang, courtesy of chiharu shiota

image by sunhi mang, courtesy of chiharu shiota

image by mathias völzke, courtesy of die künstlerin & VG bild-kunst, bonn 2019

image by sunhi mang, courtesy of chiharu shiota

project info:

exhibition location: gropius bau, berlin
exhibition dates: march 22 to june 16 2019
artist: chiharu shiota