Osaka-born artist Chiharu Shiota’s large-scale lengths of thread stretching across space address elemental issues of life, death, and human relationships. The objects she incorporates into the designs act as narrative devices, evoking powerful emotions in viewers, already entranced by the all-encompassing webs of yarn. Originally a painter, she evolved her practice to site-specific installation and performance while at art school, where she started experimenting with the possibility of drawing in space using thread. A move to Berlin in 1996, followed by a period studying under Marina Abramović, set her on a path of both personal investigation and human connection that has led to critical success and international recognition.
“I like to work with objects that have a trace of memory. Old objects always have a story behind them. I start thinking of who could have used it before, and my imagination runs free.”
Stories with Chiharu Shiota