Tabaimo to Represent Japan at the Biennale di Venezia 2011

Written by Dyan Hellman Thursday, 05 August 2010 21:05

NEW YORK, NY.- James Cohan Gallery announced that Japanese video artist Tabaimo has been selected to represent Japan at next year’s 54th Biennale di Venezia. Known for her hand-drawn animations inspired by the aesthetics of ukiyo-e wood-block prints, manga and anime, Tabaimo's works uncover a darker world that exists below the surface of contemporary Japan's well-ordered society. Acting as a witness to her country’s current cultural state, Tabaimo explains "I am not consciously critiquing anything in my work. I am just a filter, and I present information as it is." Tabaimo was selected for the 2011 Japan Pavilion by commissioner Yuka Uematsu, curator at The National Museum of Art, Osaka.

Tabaimo’s 2011 Pavilion installation will seek to address the “Trans-Galápagos Syndrome,” referring to the phenomenon of a society evolving in isolation amidst growing trends of globalization. In new works designed for the Pavilion, Tabaimo will reflect on international contemporary art discourse while incorporating the distinct characteristics of her Japanese cultural perspective.

Born in Hyogo, Japan in 1975, Ayako Tabata was given the nickname Tabaimo (meaning “Tabata’s little sister”) at an early age. In 1999, Tabaimo was awarded the prestigious Kirin Contemporary Award for her undergraduate thesis exhibition, Japanese Kitchen (1999), marking the beginning of her international art career. In 2001, she was the youngest artist invited to participate in the Yokohama Triennale.

Her work has been shown in international group exhibitions such as the 2002 São Paulo Biennial, the 2006 Biennale of Sydney, the 2007 Biennale di Venezia, and as part of Philagrafika 2010 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA. Tabaimo has had solo exhibitions at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris; the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Yokohama Museum of Art, Tokyo, and at Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art, London.

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