Choi Jeong Hwa
Yayoi Kusama
Yoko Ono
Chiharu Shiota
Huang Yong Ping
Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba
10/11/2001
Yokohama 2001
Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama
The first comprehensive international triennale of contemporary art presents works by 109 artists from 38 countries. In the Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall, 76 artists present their works. The other venue, the Red Brick Warehouse No. 1, is a historical building, which was originally built in 1913. Yokohama 2001 is the first show to be held there after the building was renovated this year. Here 23 artists are showing their works.
YOKOHAMA 2001 is now under way through Nov. 11 at the Minato Mirai 21 area
in Yokohama, about a 30-minute train ride from Tokyo.The first comprehensive
international triennale of contemporary art presents works by 109 artists
from 38 countries.
Visitors can find outdoor installations such as the gigantic 6-meter tall
"Fruit Tree" by Choi Jeong Hwa, the "Narcissus Sea" with 2,000 mirror balls
floating on seawater by Yayoi Kusama, and Yoko Ono's "Freight Train," which
she brought from Berlin, Germany.
In the Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall (10,000 square meters), 76 artists
present their works. Because of the sizes, the about 13-meter long dresses
(five pieces) created by Chiharu Shiota, the about 10 meter long two lures
by Huang Yong Ping were the focus of a number of publications including the
Japan Times (a major English language daily in Japan) and several local
television networks. Among the video installations, "Memorial Project Nha
Trang, Vietnam" by Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba drew much attention.
Nguyen-Hasushiba (b. 1968) was born to a Japanese mother and a Vietnamese
father. He put several cyclos (Vietnamese local tri-cycle taxi) underwater
and filmed an homage to both the cyclo drivers who are increasingly being
taken over by car taxis, and the many Vietnamese people who tried to flee
the country by boat during the 1970s and '80s.
The other venue, the Red Brick Warehouse No. 1, is a historical building,
which was originally built in 1913. YOKOHAMA2001 is the first show to be
held there after the building was renovated this year. Here 23 artists are
showing their works. Most of the works are video installations. Tabaimo, the
youngest (26 years old) of the 109 participating artists, introduces her
latest film "Japanese Commuter Train." Using six screens (shaped in a
hexagon), she ironically documents today’s Tokyo scene.
(During the exhibition, which started on Sept. 2, some 100,000 people have
visited the show at the two main venues: Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall
and Red Brick Warehouse No. 1.)
Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall
Red Brick Warehouse No. 1
Minato Mirai 21 area, Yokohama