Gallery G is pleased to present ChimPom's “Hiroshima!!!!!” exhibition at the building of former Bank of Japan Hiroshima Branch in Hiroshima city.

ChimPom have organized four exhibitions titled “Hiroshima” in Tokyo, Seoul and Maruki Gallery For The Hiroshima Panels since the “PIKA” disputes in autumn of 2008, and they will finally achieve one of its goals – to realize it in Hiroshima city. This “Hiroshima!!!!!” exhibition is made possible by local support and fund-raising through “'Hiroshima' Pre-Exhibition” held at eleven locations in Hiroshima city, including galleries, restaurants and music venues in July 2013. Following the call of Gallery G that sympathized with ChimPom's works on Hiroshima and post-quake Fukushima accidents, the preliminary show received a lot of support from various people. This demonstrates how people in Hiroshima have come to understand ChimPom's activities after they lost the chance to show in Hiroshima due to “PIKA!” disputes. Obviously, many people in Hiroshima have shown understanding to what ChimPom have done after they lost the chance to show in Hiroshima due to “PIKA!” disputes.

In the process to realize this exhibition in Hiroshima, ChimPom have made fully independent activities step by step to deepen communication with various people in Hiroshima since 2008. They never give up their will and belief while continuously tying to tell their true intention of “PIKA”project, which moved people in Hiroshima and other places as well. This process can be understood as connected to their other activities, such as their cooperation with Maruki Gallery For The Hiroshima Panels or Taro Okamoto Museum of ART based on mutual understanding.

Updating its contents each time, the “Hiroshima” exhibition series has served places to discuss how we can connect ourselves to our society, world and future. This “Hiroshima!!!!!” exhibition features a range of works like “Making the Sky of Hiroshima 'PIKA!” and “Real Thousand Cranes” (both produced in 2008) as the main exhibits of “Hiroshima” exhibition series, works produced in several places in Fulushima in 2011 as response to the accidents at Fukushima Daiishi Nuclear Power Plant, and new works produced in Hiroshima and Fukushima this year. With these works shown together, ChimPom attempt to develop various themes such as nuclear technology and atomic energy, survival and coexistence, and hope and peace, while connecting Hiroshima and Fukushima together as our own real issues in progressive form.

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, radioactive contamination of Lucky Dragon 5, and Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident – taking these historical events as the vertical axis of the dreadful history of nuclear technology and atomic energy, ChimPom have always engaged with “now” as their theme. They always sense very subtle ripples of passive acceptance and indifference in our society and visualize the atmosphere into their works. They will never turn a blind eye to things happening in Japan and the world – that's ChimPom. Then they build such moments of “now” to work out a new vertical axis and present a new future. How would their works produced from 2008 to 2013 reflect our age and project our future?

One of the goals of the “Hiroshima” exhibition series is travel to America. Therefore this “Hiroshima!!!!!” exhibition is not regarded as its final form, but it is still a “turning point” without doubt. ChimPom are very eager and sincere in this exhibition, telling “This is going to be an exhibition no one has ever seen anywhere else.”

It would be very rare to be able to have exhibitions like this “Hiroshima!!!!!” in Japan. Please come to the historical building of former Bank of Japan Hiroshima Branch and witness “Hiroshima!!!!!” exhibition.

*image (left)
© ChimPom
courtesy of the artist and Mujin-to Production