miwa yanagi - 'windswept women: the old girls' troupe' at venice art biennale

miwa yanagi represented japan at the 53rd venice art biennale
with her installation entitled 'windswept women: the old girls' troupe'.
japanese pavilion was curated by hiroshi minamishima.


windswept women 1, 2009 / miwa yanagi
300x400cm(with frame)
framed photography

miwa yanagi installed giant 4m high photograph stands containing portraits of women of varied
ages. the photographs of gigantic women yanagi has created for venice symbolize resolution.
they stand unmoved despite being surrounded by turbulent wind. no matter happens, they will keep
their feet planted firmly on the ground. presented in ornately designed decorative frames, these women
seem surreal but also embody an element of nostalgia. although images themselves have a macabre
quality, they encourage us to embrace vitality. they take on added significance in venice, where the
threat of imminent death has been a concern for the city throughout its history. as well as in light of
the critical economic recession currently affecting people in the world.


windswept women 2, 2009 / miwa yanagi
300x400cm(with frame)
framed photography


windswept women 3, 2009 / miwa yanagi
300x400cm(with frame)
framed photography


windswept women 4, 2009 / miwa yanagi
300x400cm(with frame)
framed photography


windswept women 5, 2009 / miwa yanagi
300x400cm(with frame)
framed photography


windswept women 2 by miwa yanagi
at the japanese pavilion
image © designboom


windswept women 3 by miwa yanagi
at the japanese pavilion
image © designboom



windswept women 5 by miwa yanagi
at the japanese pavilion
image © designboom


image © designboom


general view of the exhibition
image © designboom


people watching video installation inside the tent
image © designboom

a new video work and series of small photographs were also been shown. the motif of this installation
is a troupe comprised exclusively of women traveling with their mobile house- a tent - on the top of their
caravan. this tent, influenced by the novels of japanese modernist writer kobo abe, has already appeared
in yanagi's previous fairy tales(2004-05) series of staged photographs, and has been a key to expressing
ambivalent themes such as the tensions between 'life and death', 'past and future', 'confinement and
mobility' and 'everyday life and festival'.


image © designboom


video installation inside the tent
image © designboom


miwa yanagi at the japanese pavilion
image © designboom


japanese pavilon covered with a black tent
image © designboom

for the installation, yanagi covered the takamasa yoshizaka-designed japan pavilion built in 1956
with a black, membrane-like tent. invoking the original idea of a pavilion into a temporary playhouse.


image © designboom


miwa yanagi
portrait © designboom

miwa yanagi was born in kobe, japan.
lives and works in kyoto, japan.