Takamine has exhibited works not only in two- and three-dimensions and in video, but also in installation, performance, and productions making free use of a wide range of media, including sound, images, and computer-controlled mechanisms. Using various forms of expression, he has continuously exhibited works with a strong message. Due to his many entries in international exhibitions such as the 2003 Venice Biennale and the Busan Biennale in 2004, he has gained positive recognition internationally. In a very large space resembling a theater at the second Yokohama Triennale in 2005, he presented a video installation entitled Kagoshima Esperanto, in which the shapes of words from the dialect of his native Kagoshima Prefecture and words from Esperanto, which was created to be an international language, were pressed into images and soil. This work in a combination of light, sound, and artistic objects gathered much attention.
Takamine takes the absurdity of society as a guide in his work. A criticism of globalism’s US-centric progress is abstractly expressed in God Bless America in which people grapple with large masses of clay. Drawing on his personal romantic relationship, Baby Insa-dong (2004) touches on issues in discriminatory feelings affecting foreign residents in Japan. Good House, Nice Body (2010) raises awareness about the decline in traditional housing architecture due to the spread of prefabrication. These are some of Takamine’s works, which draw the eye to the latent contradictory and illogical aspect of human beings, exhibited in critical, but also abundantly humorous works of art.
In this exhibition, he will show not only his recent works, but also new body of works he makes in Yokohama.
The subtitle, “Too Far to See” is a phrase frequently expressed by visitors in crowded exhibitions. Although art museums are supposed to guard freedom of expression, ironically enough, they impair various aspects of freedom of expression. In his work, Takamine endeavors to highlight this contradiction. The results of this exploration are yet to be revealed, but the work taking shape in front of us will no doubt be something unexpected and stimulating.
About the Artist
Born in 1968 in Kagoshima and currently lives and works in Shiga. He graduated with a major in lacquer(Japan) from the Craft Division of the Kyoto City University of Arts and attended the International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences in Gifu Prefecture. Solo exhibitions include “A Lover from Korea” in 2003 (NPO for the Tanba Manganese Memorial), “TAKAMINE Tadasu ‘BIG REST’ Gardening for the Future 1095㎡” in 2008 (Sendai Mediateque), “The SUPERCAPACITORS” in 2010 (Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art), and “Good House, Nice Body” (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Long-term Project Room). He participated in the 2003 Venice Biennale, the 2004 Busan Biennale, the 2005 Yokohama Triennale, the 2010 Aichi Triennale as well as a number of international exhibitions and many group exhibitions both domestically and abroad. His collaborations with dance and theater are many. From 1993 to 1997, he was active as a performer for Dumb Type, and he has worked on scenery and stage images for director and coreographer Kanamori Jo / Terada Misako. He has also collaborated with musician Otomo Yoshihide. In recent years, he is active as a stage director, and present stage performances.
