joseph scissorhands

Chiharu Shiota - Uncertain Journey, 2024

“String, is like a feeling. The string is tight or tangled or cut. It’s like a relationship from human to human. It’s a mirror of my feelings.” - Chiharu Shiota.

I was so looking forward to this exhibition as it meant seeing not only the work of one of my favourite artists, but also a trip to one of my favourite cities. What better excuse then for yet another visit to Paris. Chiaharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles took place at at the very grand, Grand Palais in Paris, and I was so fortunate to be able to catch the exhibition on its closing day. Shiota was taught by artist Marina Abramović and is influenced in turn by Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta. I initially discovered Shiota's work in a smaller gallery setting here, and was able to see a further show in London here. This retrospective in Paris though, was the Berlin based artists' largest in Europe to date, and it didn't disappoint. Much of Shiota's work is site specific, and as a series of installations and sculptures has the physicality which necessarily occupies space. "I have to make art in space, and I am never sure how it will look like in the end. Other artists create art in the studio, a space that is familiar to them, but I create artwork in the museum or a gallery space. So it never feels cathartic… It is rather the opposite; I often feel a struggle", Shiota explains of her process. Chiaharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles consisted of a wonderful series of dramatic, immersive thread installations for which Shiota has become famous, her drawings and sculptures, early paintings and designs for the theatre which was an aspect of Shiota's oeuvre which I had previously been unfamiliar with. The whole exhibition unfolded over several galleries of the Grand Palais's cavernous exhibition spaces. The subtitle of the exhibition "The Soul Trembles" refers to the artist's sincere hope to deliver soul-trembling experiences to the viewer from emotions derived from the existential ideologies that drive her work such as memories, dreams, neuroses, identity, boundaries and existence. The dense, fairy tale-like red and black thread installations were the aspects of the artists work which captured my imagination on first encountering them. They still do, invoking narratives which each viewer can shape according to their own experiences and perceptions. "Threads allow me to explore space, piling up layer after layer creates a surface like the night sky which gradually expands into the universe. I began using white thread, for example, because I wanted to experiment with something new. I wanted to create something unfamiliar. I use red yarn because it resembles blood, the body and human relationships" states the artist. This retrospective contained three such large, immersive works and I was a very happy man for having had the chance to encounter these installations for the first time having only previously seen them or similar installations online. I had a fantastic time exploring these works despite the presence of the large crowds also visiting on the last day, and another wonderful day out in Paris.