INDEX
The Greenhouse of Memories
In the following Chapter 8, the exhibition features the strikingly kitsch and visually arresting piece, Reconstruction of Memories. Inside a glass-enclosed greenhouse, a jumble of fragments that shape the artist’s memories are packed together, with a central drum bridge serving as a motif that connects the realms of the living and the dead. Many might recall Shinnosuke Otake’s Mon Cheri: Self-Portrait as a Scrap Shed, which was also displayed at the National Art Center. This greenhouse, however, enhances the growth and fermentation of memories, leading to amusingly bizarre chemical reactions.
In the prominently visible parts of the bridge, there are conspicuous art books of masters like Vermeer. At the edges, you’ll find fetishistic imagery featuring close-ups of female body parts and pornography. Beneath the bridge, in the darker areas, a fighter jet lies quietly.
On the bridge, there’s a marionette draped with a sash reading “Kenichi Tanaami” (its arms and legs resembling those of a famous character). The marionette has a mischievous face and pose.
Although Tanaami has been working with collage since the early days of his career, by the time we reach Chapter 8, the density is extraordinary. Layers of motifs are stacked, adorned with glitter and rhinestones, and even when the surface becomes saturated, the frenzy persists… that’s the impression it leaves.
