Considering how crisp and generally orderly my aesthetic tends to be, it’s generally surprising for people to find out that Shiota’s work is one of my biggest influences. The thoughtful narrative behind her work, and the sheer scale of her work manage to stand out just as much as her absolutely unique style.
”Chiharu Shiota is a Japanese performance and installation artist. Educated in Japan, Australia, and Germany, Shiota interweaves materiality and the psychic perception of the space to explore ideas around the body and flesh, personal narratives that engage with memory, territory, and alienation.”
I find that the chaos in her work constitutes such a wildly clear and neat experience in its totality, that her work manages to physically and conceptually traverse the entire chaos-order spectrum. During both esoteric and technical discussions with other artists, I often suggest folks take a dive into her world.
While her Japanese background and culture are clear to see in the meticulosity of her installations, there is also a very uniquely personal signature in her creations. Once you’ve seen even the tiniest bit of her work, it makes it impossible not to identify her work at first glance thereon.
What artist(s) come to your mind when you think of art that covers so much breadth and scope, and is easy to identify?