Internal Line Installation - Chiharu Shiota

Japan House São Paulo welcomes the sensitive, singular work of the Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota from November 13, 2019 to February 2, 2020, on the ground floor of the cultural center. The brand new Internal Line work follows universal themes such as human relations, feelings, memories, life and death, topics that have stood out throughout the artist’s career.

To create it, Shiota was inspired by a Japanese legend that says that when a child is born, a red thread is tied to his finger, representing the extension of his veins running from his heart to the pinkies of his hands. Throughout life, this invisible thread intertwines with someone else’s thread, connecting one to the other, not necessarily as lovers, but in some way that will have a deep impact on their paths.

For this installation, the artist highlights this thread that comes from the heart and creates a universe of connections. “I believe we are all connected. You may not see it with your eyes, but if you could, you would see that humans are all connected,” she says. The installation also evokes the conception of a physical presence, a body that accumulates memories, represented by red dresses that symbolize the second skin, regardless of nationality or color, that accompanies us in our life and becomes the accumulation of memories that are collected daily.

The union of these two elements in the installation reveals bodies joined by a complex network of blood vessels that connect them. Grandiose, the work will consist of three large red dresses, in addition to about 10,000 threads hanging vertically, totaling more than 34 kilometers of material. The color red used in the installation refers to the blood that flows through the blood vessels, which generates the flow of energy and the connection between the people.

“We are very pleased to present a brand new work of this great artist, especially an installation that was created from a visit of hers to Japan House São Paulo and that carries a very poetic and profound meaning,” says Japan House São Paulo cultural director Natasha Barzaghi Geenen.

Simultaneously, the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center, in São Paulo, welcomes the ‘Lifelines’ individual exhibition, which brings a retrospective of the artist’s career with about 70 works. The show is scheduled for November 13, 2019 to January 27, 2020, in an unprecedented partnership between the two institutions. Both exhibitions are produced by Base7 Projetos Culturais and curated by Tereza Arruda. Holding a degree in Art History from the Free University of Berlin, the historian has lived between São Paulo and Berlin since 1989 and has curated several of the Japanese artist’s exhibitions.

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Internal Line Installation
Chiharu Shiota
Japan House São Paulo
From November 13, 2019 to February 2, 2020
Ground floor

Japan House São Paulo
Avenida Paulista, 52
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am to 8pm
Sundays and holidays: 10am to 6pm
Free admission
Check out the program at www.facebook.com/JapanHouseSP/

Life Lines Exhibition
Chiharu Shiota
Banco do Brasil São Paulo Cultural Center - CCBB SP
From November 13, 2019 to January 27, 2020
Free admission
Rua Álvares Penteado, 112 – Centro. São Paulo -SP
Every day from 9am to 9pm, except Tuesdays.