Press Release 2012/9/12

Home Again－10 Artists Who Have Experienced Japan
August 28 (Tuesday) – November 18 (Sunday), 2012
Indonesia, Singapore, India, Afghanistan, Brazil, Argentina and the United States ─Various
homes to various artists who return to Japan to create a place for co-existence at the Hara
Museum.

Syagini Ratnawulan

L.S.

2011

photograph57.2 x 150.3 cm

The Hara Museum is proud to present Home Again－10 Artists Who Have Experienced Japan.
In our globalized world today, active international exchange is occurring in all areas of life, including theworld of contemporary art, and the Artist in Residence (AIR) (note 1) is one concrete way in which it isoccurring. Thanks to AIR programs, many artists from different countries have come to Japan toexperience the culture and society and to use that experience as inspiration for creative activity.
This exhibition showcases 10 artists from various countries in Asia and the Americas, all former Artists In
Residence (AIR) who came to Japan under the sponsorship of the Backers Foundation (note 2) and theNPO Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT] (note 3) between the years 2007 and 2011. During their three-monthresidencies, they discovered new motifs related to the country, exhibited work that they made in Tokyoand then returned home. For this exhibition, they have been invited to come back to Japan to show us
the changes and developments that have occurred in their expression during their time away.
Furthermore, by presenting the results at a museum, we are able to look into the present state of a
cutting-edge AIR program.
Since its founding in 1979, the Hara Museum has placed great weight on international exchange incontemporary art. This exhibition, which continues that tradition, will present selected works created bythese artists during their residencies or after their return to their home countries. As the state ofinternational affairs undergo major changes, more and more artists from non-Western, developing or
newly developed nations are making an appearance in the international art scene. This fact isunderscored by the prominent place given to artists from Middle Eastern countries at dOCUMENTA 13,
the large-scale art fair currently being held in Germany. In light of these trends, this exhibition featuring
artists from Asia and Central and South America takes on a deep significance.
What was the experience of Japan for these artists, each from a different cultural sphere, with different
language, religion and customs? Of particular interest is whether traces of their experience can bediscerned in the work that they have done afterwards. Though marked by differences in background,work pattern, style of art, and choice of medium ‐ ranging from painting, drawing and installation tophotography and sculpture - these artists, as a group, represent the great variety of expression that isspecial to the world of contemporary art today.
For them, Japan was not ″home,″ but a chance to reconfirm the meaning of ″home,″ an opportunity to go
beyond cultural boundaries, to reach for something approaching co-existence. As a former private
residence and the venue of this exhibition, the Hara Museum provides a virtual home for thatco-existence.

Notes:1. What does ″Artist in Residence″ mean?
According to the AIR_J online database of Artist-In-Residence programs (htt://air-j.info/): ″Artist inResidence (AIR) is a program to support the creative activities of artists in Japan and overseas byproviding opportunities for them to stay and work outside their countries or regions for a certain period oftime. With growing interest in AIR in Japan in the early 1990s, an increasing number of local
governments and art-related NPOs have been working on AIR programs.″
2. What is the Backers Foundation?
The Backers Foundation is a private group of patrons from the business world who first joined together in1994 to provide support for the Japan Animal Welfare Society. Since then, the 55 members have fundeda variety of organizations. They also participate in self-organized committees set up for projects to which
they volunteer their personal time under the motto ″cheerfully and happily.″ One of these efforts is aterakoya, or after-hours school for children, that the foundation has operated since 2005. Through theBAR (Backers and AIT Residence Program) series, 10 artists and 5 curators have been invited fromcountries that so far include the US, the Netherlands, Afghanistan, Brazil, Singapore, South Korea, SriLanka, Argentina, India, Morocco and Indonesia.
3. What is Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]?
AIT (pronounced ″eight″) is an NPO that was founded in 2002 in Tokyo by 6 art curators and organizers
with the goal of providing opportunities to think, learn and discuss about contemporary art and visualculture. AIT collaborates with individuals, corporations, foundations and the government to teach people
about the complexity, diversity, surprise and fun of contemporary art. At the same time, it promotes theexchange of cultural ideas through the independent contemporary art school MAD that it operates, AIRprograms for international artists and curators, and exhibitions and lectures by artists. www.a-i-t.net[Exhibition Information]
Exhibition title: Home Again – 10 Artists Who Have Experienced Japan
Dates: August 28 (Tuesday) – November 18 (Sunday), 2012
Place: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, 4-7-25, Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0001
Tel: 03-3445-0651 Fax: 03-3473-0104 E-mail: info@haramuseum.or.jp
Museum website: http://www.haramuseum.or.jp Mobile site: http://mobile.haramuseum.or.jp
http://www.art-it.asia/u/HaraMuseum/ (blog)
Twitter: http://twitter.com/haramuseum (in Japanese only/ Account name: ＠haramuseum)
Organized by: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art and Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]
Co-organized by: The Backers Foundation
Sponsored by: Daikin Industries, ltd, UBS, Louis Vuitton Japan
Supported by: Asahi Beer Arts Foundation, Asian Cultural Council, The Kao Foundation for Arts andSciences
Hours: 11:00 am-5:00 pm, Wednesdays until 8:00 pm (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (except September 17 and October 8), September 18 and October 9
Admission: Regular 1,000 yen; Students 700 yen (high school & university) or 500 yen (elementary &junior high); Free for Hara Museum members, students through high school every Saturday during theschool terms. 100 yen discount per person for groups of 20 or more.
Directions: 5 minutes by taxi or 15 minutes on foot from JR Shinagawa Station (Takanawa exit); or fromthe same station take the No.96 bus, get off at the first stop (Gotenyama), and walk 3 minutes.
*Exhibition catalogue will be available from early October.
Price 1200 yen, A4 size, 64 pages, published by Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT] and The Backers Foundation,edited by the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, content includes installation views and artists’ interview,etc.

2[Participating artists]
Khadim Ali (Afganistan, b. 1978)
Based in Quetta, Pakistan and born to parents of an Afghan minority
group, Ali studied miniature painting at the National College of Arts in
Lahore. He uses those traditional techniques to portray contemporarysociety in his art. During his residency in 2007, he made an acquaintancewith a woman from Europe who had left her daughter behind to work inJapan. This led to a video piece in which the woman is asked to singlullabies in her native language, as well as miniature paintings based onthat encounter. Ali had come to Japan before through the AIR program ofthe Fukuoka Asian Museum. He has shown work at such venues as theAsia Pacific Triennale (2006) and dOCUMENTA 13 (2012). For thisexhibition, he presents new miniature paintings related to the work atdOCUMENTA 13.

Khadim Ali

The Haunted Lotus

2011-2012

goauche and gold leaf on paper

70 x 54 cm

Minam Apang (India, b. 1980)
Based in Goa, India, Apang graduated with a Master's degree from theSir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai. In small, yet highly detailed drawings,
she uses paper and thread to create a fantastical world guided by her
unconscious mind and chance. Her drawings are based on storiespassed down orally by her tribe in northeastern India where she was born.
In them, meaning and emotion are expressed in different ways throughthe weaving together of letters, signs and silhouettes. While in Tokyo, shemade meticulous drawings that she folded and placed vertically to create
three-dimensional works. For this exhibition, she plans to show newdrawings.

Minam Apang
HachikoHillside Stories: A Dog Brings the Shadow, Remembering

2008

cotton thread, glue, paper, wooden pedestal
26 x 56 x 15 cm (object); 52 x 90 x 40 cm (pedestal)
Private collection
Photo by Keizo Kioku

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Florencia Rodriguez Giles (Argentina, b. 1978)
Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Giles studied at the National Universityof the Arts in Buenos Aires. She makes drawings or installations using
stage sets, props and costumes, creating scenes that appear to be takenfrom a play. She incorporates mythical imagery and narratives fromsources that include Japanese Noh and Greek plays to create awhimsical world uniquely her own. In her drawings made during her
residency in 2009, she combined mythical imagery with her impressionsof Japan. For this exhibition, she will present a new installation consistingof a theater set and costumes.
Photo by: Rosana Schoijett

Florencia Rodriguez Giles

Fictional Islands

2009

pencil, marker-pen, watercolor, paper, photograph prints
100 x 100 cm (Installation size) (partial view)
Photo by Keizo Kioku

Duto Hardono (Indonesia, b. 1985)
Based in Bandung, Indonesia, Hardono graduated from the Fine Art &Design Faculty of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). He creates
installations, drawings and collages that are full of humor and wit, often
using actual sounds or images that lead the viewer to imagine sound.
After his residency in 2011, he created a sound installation using random
noises and voices that he recorded in Tokyo. Another work is a collage
made up of things collected during his stay. For this exhibition, Hardono
contributes a conceptual piece consisting of postcards that he sent fromhis home to Tokyo everyday for a month.

Duto Hardono Untitled (You Chose the Wrong Side)2011

framed hand stamped cassette tape36.0 x 21.2 cm
Photo by Keizo Kioku

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Pradeep Mishra (India, b. 1977)
Based in Munbai, India, Mishra received an MFA from the Sir J.J. Schoolof Art in Mumbai. During his residency in 2010, his motifs included
animals at the zoo or embalmed animals at museums. He createsvibrantly colored figurative paintings that depict plants, animals andpeople who serve or sacrifice their lives for the sake of others. As
embodiments of “life” in various forms, these works, when displayed, areoften accompanied by a living plant or soil. For the exhibition, Mishra hascreated an outdoor installation in the shape of a flag.

Pradeep Mishra warmthoftogetherness

2010

oil paint, paper 138 x 209 cm
Photo by Keizo Kioku

Donna Ong (Singapore, b. 1978)
Based in Singapore, Ong studied at Goldsmith’s College in London. She
draws on various narrative sources for her installations and video art,
ranging from mythology to the Bible. During her residency in 2008, Ong
created an installation consisting of dollhouse tableware and furniture
painted black, gray and silver. Her work has appeared at the Singapore
Biennale (2006) and Moscow Biennale (2007). This exhibition features avideo work inspired by the friendship dolls that were exchanged between
Japan and America in 1927 as symbols of friendship between the twonations. In the video, innocent-looking dolls exude an eeriness asvessels inhabited by spirits.

Donna Ong

In the Secret, in the Quiet Place (iv)2008

enamel, plastic, plastic toys
20 x 13 x 27 cm

Private collection

Photo by Keizo Kioku

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Thiago Rocha Pitta (Brazil, b. 1980)
Pitta, who lives in São Paulo, Brazil, participated in the Singapore
Biennale (2006) and São Paulo Biennale (2012). During his residence inTokyo, Pitta was attracted to the simple forms that he encountered in thecity's architecture. His drawings and installations combine the inorganic
aspect of architecture and the organic aspect of salt crystals. He makes
contemplative works based on a close observation of natural processes
such as weathering, sedimentation and the flow of water, often using salt
crystal as a symbol of change in nature. For this exhibition, Pitta will
create an installation using cloth and cement.

Thiago Rocha Pitta Monument to the Continental Driftcloth, cement , etc

2012

260 x 58 x 177 cm

Photo by Keizo Kioku

Syagini Ratnawulan (Indonesia, b. 1979)
Ratnawulan, who lives in Bandung, Indonesia, studied at Goldsmith’s
College in London. She participated in the exhibition Under Construction
at Tokyo Opera City Gallery and in the Japan Foundation Forum (2002).
Old furniture, typewriters and cushions found during her 2011 residency
appear in her installations, photographs and drawings, which are quiet innature, but highly thought provoking. In her photographic work L.S., whichis based on The Last Supper of Leonardo da Vinci, Ratnawulan’spositions her subjects in the same order as Leonardo, covering them witha white veil as an expression of hidden history and time. She will present
new drawings for the current exhibition.

Syagini Ratnawulan

L.S.

2011

photograph57.2 x 150.3 cm(image shown on Page 1)

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Erika Verzutti (Brazil, b. 1971)
Verzutti resides in São Paulo, Brazil. She studied at Goldsmith College in
London and participated in the Neo Tropicália exhibition (2008) at theMuseum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. In her sculptures and paintings,
Verzutti uses a variety of materials—from clay, cement and paper to realor fake vegetables and fruits, and ready-mades—to create imagery of afree and organic nature. During her residency, she made drawings using
felt-tip pens and concrete sculptures. She will present new sculptural
works for this exhibition.

¥Erika Verzutti

Carbonada 2010

concrete, glass beads

32 x 13 x 13 cm

Photo by Keizo Kioku

Mary Elizabeth Yarbrough (U.S.A., b. 1974)
Based in San Francisco, U.S.A., Yarbrough received a Master’s degreefrom the California College of Arts in San Francisco. She creates 2D art
using pop culture images from the TV and the Internet and colored tapewhich she tears and assembles on the canvas. During her residency in2007, she was attracted to aspects of popular culture such as karaokeand enka, noting the difference between non-Japanese, who sing
karaoke in front of strangers, and the Japanese, who sing in small rooms
with acquaintances. She was particularly interested in Misora Hibari, herfashion and her singing style. Some of the work inspired by these sources
will appear in public for the first time in this exhibition.

Mary Elizabeth YarbroughOh-me nee kakatte ureh-shee des! (I am glad that I meet you!)duct tape and contact paper on contact paper【For interviews and press images】
Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT] Naoko Horiuchi, Rika Yoda （otoiawase@a-i-t.net）

2007

63 x 55 cm

Tel: 03-5489-7277【Inquiries regarding the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art】
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art Public Relations Junko Watanabe, Yasuko Kajita (press@haramuseum.or.jp)
Tel: 03-3280-0679
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