Shiota Chiharu: The Soul Trembles

^{Shiota Chiharu, In Silence, 2008. Burnt piano, burnt chair, black wool. Installation view: State of Being, Art Centre Pasquart, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, 2008.}

Berlin-based international artist Shiota Chiharu is known for performances and installations that express the intangible: memories, anxiety, dreams, silence and more. Often arising out of personal experience, her works have enthralled people all over the world and from all walks of life by questioning universal concepts such as identity, boundaries, and existence. Particularly well-known is her series of powerful installations consisting of threads primarily in red and black strung across entire spaces.

This will be the largest-ever solo exhibition by Shiota Chiharu. The subtitle “The Soul Trembles” references the artist’s earnest hope to deliver to others soul-trembling experiences derived from nameless emotions. This will be the first opportunity to experience in detail twenty years of Shiota’s oeuvre; primarily in six large installations, plus sculptural works, video footage of performances, photographs, drawings, performing arts-related material, etc. Through this exhibition epitomizing the “presence in absence” that Shiota has explored throughout her career, visitors will doubtless gain a sense for themselves of the meaning of living and journey of life, and the inner workings of the soul.

_{(Photo: Sunhi Mang.)}