Shinji Ohmaki
Shinji Ohmaki | Japan b. 1971 | Where have the flowers gone? (detail) 2008 | Installation at Fuchu Art Museum, Tokyo | Image courtesy: Tokyo Gallery + BTAP
b.1971 Gifu, Japan
Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
Shinji Ohmaki’s installations create absorbing and labyrinthine environments through a skilful deployment of repetition and scale, and the use of everyday materials such as flour, correction fluid, and thread. Often working with the architecture of the gallery, Ohmaki transforms spaces so that boundaries between the interior and exterior become blurred. Liminal air – descend 2006 combines masses of knotted thread, artificial light and architectural form to produce dramatic, immersive encounters. Inspired by the beauty of natural forms, Ohmaki’s works invite a sense of wonder and weightlessness, conveying the notion of infinity. The formal aesthetic structures of Japanese architecture and Zen gardens are also important points of departure for Ohmaki, as is their function as spaces for meditation and contemplation. Inspired by these architectures, Ohmaki transforms a discrete gallery space in the Gallery of Modern Art into a ‘liminal’ zone, offering a profoundly physical experience in which audiences can consider perceptions of eternity and the sublime.
Exhibitions (solo): 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan, 2007; Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, 2005. Exhibitions (group): Yokohama Triennale, Japan, 2008; ‘Global Players’, Ludwig Forum Aachen, Germany, 2006. www.shinjiohmaki.net
Video
View Shinji Ohmaki’s artist talk from the APT6 Opening weekend (part 1 of 2) (part 2 of 2)
Installation photography
APT6 | Shinji Ohmaki | Liminal Air – descend – 2007-09
