9/6/2000
Nest=O
97-99 Gallery, London
An Architectural Installation by Tono Mirai.
Tono Mirai is a
Japanese
architect best
known for his
innovative
installation
projects in various
art spaces in
Tokyo. He is
dedicated to creating new experimental spaces
in urban contexts, which fuse modern and
vernacular materials and technology. A major
concern for Mirai is the environment and Nest=O
builds on the Japanese tradition of respect for
nature, using unfired English clay, which will be
recycled after the show.
Throughout May Mirai and his 4 person
workshop crew from Tokyo, assisted by students
from the Chelsea College of Art and Design, are
building the structure. They can be seen at work
through the open shop front window of the
gallery; bending steel rods into curvilinear
shapes, welding, weaving and attaching reed
fences and applying mud.
The process of creation is as fascinating as the
finished piece, attracting passers-by to stop
and watch as the crew engages in their task.
The dismantling of the work, with all the careful
recycling and separating of the elements, will
follow after the 4 weeks's period of the
exhibition, providing yet more opportunities to
observe one of the most unusual architectural
projects in London.
Nest=O is the only specially commissioned
architectural work in Architecture Week 2000.
The project will be documented in a 97-99
publication on the mud architecture of Tono
Mirai co-written by Dr.Gwendolyn Leick and the
art critic Michael Archer. The launch will coincide
with the Performing Architecture Symposium at
the Tate Modern in November 2000, organised
by Chelsea College of Art & Design and Tate
Modern.
Venue: 97-99 Sclater Street London E1 UK
Dates: 10th June- 9th July 2000
Thurs - Sun 1 - 5pm and by appointment
Opening: Saturday 10th June2000 6 - 8 pm
Press contact: Gwendolyn Leick
Tel: +44 (0)20-7729 9498
This exhibition is supported by:
The London Institute: Chelsea College of Art & Design, The Nomura Cultural Fund
The Great Britain-Sasagawa Foundation, The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
The Japan Foundation, and Visiting Arts
97-99 Gallery
London,
UK United Kingdom