2024.12.24
The Yaesu, Nihonbashi, and Kyobashi area is a treasure trove of art, known only to those in the know. What type of art are you planning to check out with Mademoiselle Yulia today?
This time I visited the Artizon Museum in Kyobashi. The museum is currently presenting Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection × Mohri Yuko - On Physis, which runs from November 2, 2024, to February 9, 2025. The Jam Session is a series of exhibition events that have been ongoing since the museum's opening in 2020. This series of exhibitions feature collaborations between artists and curators. The exhibitions feature new works inspired by specific pieces from the Ishibashi Foundation Collection, along with fresh perspectives developed through sessions between the collection and the artists. The fifth exhibition in this series features artist Mohri Yuko. Mohri Yuko has built a successful career in the global art scene, including being selected to represent the Japan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition in 2024. This article explores the world of contemporary art through Mademoiselle Yulia's sensibility, while Yuko Mohri describes her own works.
Yulia: Hello. It has been a while. We last met at the Venice Biennale in May. I was deeply impressed by your work that I saw in Venice and became a big fan of Mohri-san’s artworks. I came here today excited to see your works again and to meet you again. This is a Jam Session exhibition. Much like a musical jam session, it highlights the harmony created through the collaboration between Mohri-san’s works and those of other artists. Additionally, I look forward to comparing the works of different artists and experiencing the unexpected reactions sparked through their synergy.
Mohri: It has been a while. I was also looking forward to seeing you again in a setting like this. This exhibition features some works that are also displayed at the Venice Biennale.
Yulia: I can’t wait to see them.
Mohri: This project started about three years ago. I selected ten pieces from the Ishibashi Foundation’s collection of about 3,000 works to complement my seven installations, including both new creations and earlier pieces. Many of the pieces I selected are ones that have captured my interest for many years. Also, I have long been drawn to the Jam Session exhibition project itself. So, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating this exhibition.
Yulia: I believe the appeal of Mohri-san’s exhibition is that your work expresses natural forces like magnetism, electric currents, air, water, and temperature as tangible shapes, sounds, movements, and changes. The word “physis” used in the exhibition’s title is an ancient Greek term that represents nature itself, constantly repeating the cycle of generation, change, and disappearance. It perfectly aligns with Mohri-san’s worldview, and I am getting more excited to see how the exhibit will turn out!
Mohri: I will start by walking you through the installation titled Decomposition (2021-), which is displayed at the entrance. The entrance is usually not a place for artwork, except for permanent installations, but there is a specific reason I had to place this installation here.
Yulia: This work was also exhibited in Venice. The exhibition hall in Venice was an indoor space with a vaulted ceiling, open to the outdoors.
Mohri: For this installation, I used fresh pears and apples since they are in season. I inserted electrodes into the fruits, and the moisture content of the fruits, which gradually lose their vitality and begin to decay, is transmitted as an electrical signal and computed. This decaying process is then expressed in real-time through changes in the LED panel lights and organ sounds from the speaker. In Venice, the fruits ripened and gradually rotted, after which they were composted and turned into fertilizer. However, that type of exhibition is difficult to implement inside the museum. In this exhibition, the fruits are replaced with fresh ones before they begin to rot. Additionally, I was told that fresh fruit, which is perishable, could not be placed inside the museum’s exhibition rooms, so we decided to display it at the entrance.
Yulia: That is quite an interesting story behind this installation (laughs).
Mohri: I combined Decomposition with Georges Braque’s still life painting, Two Pears and a Peach (1924). Based on the coloring of this painting, the fruits appear to be rotting, and I believe he was contemplating the life and death of the fruit as he painted it.
Yulia: Indeed, if I take a closer look, the color really does seem like the fruits are starting to rot.
Mohri: Two paintings, including Two Pears and a Peach, are displayed on the slope at the entrance to the exhibition space. The other painting is Fujishima Takeji’s Nami (Oarai) (1931). The ocean visible from the town of Oarai in Ibaraki Prefecture is the Pacific Ocean. I grew up in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa, where the view of the Pacific Ocean was part of my everyday landscape. The blue-gray ocean in this painting feels familiar to me, and I tried to reflect that sense of nostalgia in this exhibition. I believe visitors will enjoy the blue-gray tones, along with the sounds and movements that resemble the “waves” that ebb and flow throughout the exhibition hall.
Yulia: As we pass through the ramp, the view opens up before us. It feels like I am standing on elevated ground.
Mohri: Isn’t it? I designed this as a place where you can view the entire exhibition hall from a slightly elevated perspective, much like looking out over the Pacific from the coast of Fujisawa. The staircase with metal mesh panels allows you to go up and down. You can also sit here and look around the entire exhibition space. I hope visitors can feel like they are daydreaming while listening to the sound of waves at Fujisawa Beach.
Yulia: There are even Coke cans placed beneath the stair step, as if someone had discarded them. It really shows your attention to detail (laughs).
Mohri: I brought the Coke cans in myself. Of course, I washed them before bringing them here (laughs). In this location, I wanted to recreate the scene of a boy and girl in love and exchanging hugs and kisses on the beach. To express that, I selected Constantin Brancusi’s plaster work, The Kiss. Next to it is my work Calls (2013–), created with ribbons and electromagnets. In Calls, a fork attached to a ribbon swings in response to electromagnets, occasionally striking a glass placed nearby.[G1] The theme of this work, as the title suggests, is to evoke something. The magnet very much represents the attraction through invisible forces, while the tapping of the glass recalls the act of glass clinking at parties to capture people’s attention. Through this movement and the sound, I expressed how people are attracted to each other by invisible forces.
Rain in Belle-Ile, by Claude Monet / Photo Kioku Keizo
Yulia: The view of the ocean from Fujisawa is lovely, but this exhibition also features Claude Monet’s seascape painting, Rain in Belle-Ile (1886).
Mohri: That’s right. Monet painted Rain in Belle-Ile on the island of Belle-Île-en-Mer, which means “beautiful island in the sea,” located in Brittany, France. I visited the island myself and experienced a beautiful seascape that displayed a tranquil yet rugged beauty. I also found a spot where Monet probably stood to paint; it was right on the edge of a cliff with poor footing. I was both impressed and excited to discover that Monet stood there and continued painting in the rain. He truly amazed me (laughs). Monet originally planned to stay on the island for two weeks, but I heard he had extended his stay and ended up spending three months there. The island must have been a truly inspiring place for him.
Yulia: I can feel Monet’s extraordinary passion. Did you capture the seascape videos displayed on the screen and record the wave sounds heard from the speakers on the island?
Mohri: Yes. This is my work, Piano Solo: Belle-ile (2021–2024), with the combination of video and sound. I paired it with Monet’s Rain in Belle-Ile. The sound of waves from the speakers is picked up by a microphone, converted into audio data, and then played by the piano, mimicking the sound. The piano is an authoritative instrument in a sense, but for some reason, it is not good at replicating the natural sound of waves. Instead, it produces strange sounds that resemble dissonance. I want visitors to experience the piano’s unexpected weakness and how its sound differs from the natural one.
Yulia: Mohri-san, you often create works using a mathematical or physics-based approach. Have you always been interested in science and math?
Mohri: Yes, I have been good at math, physics, and science since I was a student. I have also been interested in music and audio equipment. As I played with them, I naturally started creating a variety of works (laughs).
Mohri: I have been fascinated by Marcel Duchamp’s work, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (also known as The Large Glass) (1915–1923) for a long time. For about seven years, starting before the COVID pandemic, I studied and observed this work, finding connections to my own creations. The installation displayed here, titled, The Flipping Apparatus, Three Veils (2018–), is the result of these seven years of contemplation. The concept of The Large Glass revolves around “nine bachelors” who develop desires for “the bride,” a married woman, and these desires are represented through various flying motifs. I translated this concept into a three-dimensional object. The Large Glass is currently part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection. In this exhibition, my work is displayed alongside By or of Marcel Duchamp or Rrose Sélavy (Box), Series B (1952, 1946 pencil drawings), which contains a miniature version of The Large Glass.
Yulia: The bride’s veil sways gently in the breeze from three circulators. And is that a scanner positioned underneath?
Mohri: The wall at the center divides the space into two sections, one symbolizing “the bride” and the other “the bachelors.” In “the bachelors” space, I placed a metal relief[G1] inspired by the elliptical motifs found in Duchamp’s work. When the silver broom makes contact with the relief, it becomes energized and activates the circulators on the other side of the wall in “the bride” space. This mechanism causes the bride’s three veils to flutter in the wind produced by the circulators. Additionally, a scanner captures the movement of the veils, and the images are displayed on three monitors.
Yulia: So, this scanner is connected to the monitor on the wall.
Mohri: Yes. What is interesting about the scanner is its ability to capture movement at one- to two-second intervals and record it as fluctuations and tremors. This allows us to observe subtle changes through the images that the scanner creates.
Yulia: I sense its subtle fluctuations and tremors symbolize unfulfilled desires.
Mohri: The last work I would like to introduce is Oni-bi (fen fire) (2013 -). When the swinging threads touch the metal mesh screen, they become energized, and with a small spark, the solenoid is activated, causing the glockenspiel of the band organ to produce sound.
Photo: kugeyasuhide
Yulia: I was curious about what is visible in the pitch-black space, and every now and then, I see sparks. I assume you are representing oni-bi (fen fire) with the sparks.
Mohri: Yes. In Japanese folklore, oni-bi is believed to be the manifestation of human or animal spirits transformed into fire. In reality, however, it is a chemical phenomenon where methane gas from a corpse emits light. Nevertheless, I find it fascinating that the stories created by humans have a poetic charm that transcends the logic of chemistry, even touching on the mystery of life and death.
Yulia: I find it interesting that in all of your works, not just in Oni-bi, the power that begins with a subtle contact eventually manifests in tangible forms like sound and movement.
Mohri: In this exhibition, I chose not to provide detailed and excessive explanations for each piece. Instead, I leave the interpretation and appreciation of the works up to each visitor. I did not establish a specific route for this exhibition, so I hope visitors will feel free to explore and enjoy the displayed works at their own pace.
Yulia: So, it is up to each visitor to enjoy the exhibition in their own way. I really enjoyed your exhibition today. Thank you very much.
Mohri: Likewise, thank you very much.
A word from Yulia:
The appeal of this art exhibition lies in the fact that visitors can enjoy the works not only visually, but also through sound, movement, and occasionally scent. This multisensory experience is what makes the exhibition captivating. It felt as though Mohri-san were conducting a physics experiment right before our eyes, sharing the results, and we were all surprised and delighted together.
Costume cooperation:Mame Kurogouchi
Dress 45,100 yen
(For inquiries, please contact: Mame Kurogochi Online Store )
Photographer: Tatsuya Yamanaka
Writer: Manami Tominaga
ジャム・セッション 石橋About the Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection × Mohri Yuko - On Physis
Venue: Artizon Museum of Art (1-7-2 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
Dates: Saturday, November 2, 2024, to Sunday, February 9, 2025
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 every Friday) *Entry is permitted up to 30 minutes before closing.
Closed: Mondays (open on November 4 and January 13), November 5, December 28 to January 3, and January 14
Fee
General: Web reservation tickets (1,200 yen *credit card payment only), tickets sold at the ticket counter (1,500 yen)
University, college, and high school students: Free (Web reservations required. Please present your student ID upon entry.)
Persons with disabilities and one accompanying person: Free (No reservations required. Please present your disability certificate upon entry.)
Junior high school students and younger: Free (no reservations required)
*The above fee grants access to all concurrent exhibitions. Please check the official website for details.
Concurrent exhibition:
Looking Human: The Figure Painting
Selections from the Ishibashi Foundation Collection, Special Section, Matisse’s Studio
Organized by: The Ishibashi Foundation Artizon Museum
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Yulia started her career as a DJ and singer in her teenage years. In addition to her work as a DJ, she is involved in a variety of activities, including kimono styling, teaching kimono classes, and writing columns, all while being based in Tokyo and traveling the world. She updates her YouTube channel, Yulia’s Room, every week.
「Yulia’s Room」:@melleyulia
Instagram:@mademoiselle_yulia