KÖNIG GALERIE | Nave

Chiharu Shiota has chosen boats as a starting point, derived from the idea of two hands cupped together to form a bowl, which want to pass something on. But this time, rather than being actual, used boats, the artist has created her own vessels, metal constructions with lines like fragile skeletons resembling transparent bodies. And this time, rather than resting on solid ground, the bow of one of the boats is tilted upwards as though about to take off on an epic journey into the unknown, in pursuit of other vessels that have already set off. The present becomes a transition into an as yet undetermined future. Clearly, this journey into the unknown is a metaphor for the ups and downs of life – of a life whose trajectory we cannot know. Replacing the keys of the Venice work – from which Shiota reads people’s multifaceted stories like a tracker, always looking for clues – are 10,000 letters sent to the artist from across the globe. Printed on red paper, they are attached to red threads that no longer form a labyrinthine web but hang straight down like cords from the lofty ceiling. The artist’s imagined world is in evidence once again, with its individual mythology that corresponds with the various cultures of the world, transcends the restrictive boundaries of consciousness and dares to venture into the cosmic realm. (written by Norbert Jocks)