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 yanagi300x400cm(with frame) framed photography

windswept women 3, 2009 / miwa yanagi300x400cm(with frame) framed photography

windswept women 4, 2009 / miwa yanagi300x400cm(with frame) framed photography

windswept women 5, 2009 / miwa yanagi300x400cm(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

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.