Interview: Nobuaki Takekawa

  • Ota Fine Arts Shanghai presents Japanese artist Nobuaki Takekawa (b.1977)'s second solo exhibition in China 'idling garden'. Takekawa’s cat Olympics...

    © Nobuaki Takekawa, Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts (Shanghai/Singapore/Tokyo)

    Ota Fine Arts Shanghai presents Japanese artist Nobuaki Takekawa (b.1977)'s second solo exhibition in China "idling garden". Takekawa’s cat Olympics themed solo exhibition at Ota Fine Arts Shanghai in 2017 remains fresh and memorable in audiences’ minds. This new exhibition aims to demonstrate the depth and breadth of Takekawa’s artistic language. By showcasing his creative practice over the past few years, we are privy to his versatility and broad approach in communicating social issues and phenomenon.

    With the ongoing global health pandemic, individuals, collectives and society at large are in an "idling state": the accelerator is not stepped on, yet engines are continually running at low speeds. On this occasion, we had a conversation with Nobuaki Takekawa about what he has been up to recently and his personal experience amidst Covid19 in Japan.

     

    To find out more about the exhibition “idling garden”, click here.

     

     

  • IN CONVERSATION WITH NOBUAKI TAKEKAWA

    Details: Nobuaki Takekawa, Demolition of Rice Pyramid, 2020, Acrylic on canvas, 159 x 253.4 cm

    © Nobuaki Takekawa, Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts (Shanghai/Singapore/Tokyo)

    IN CONVERSATION WITH NOBUAKI TAKEKAWA

    — The exhibition currently on view is titled ‘idling garden’. Could you please share with us your own understanding of ‘the state of idling’? 

    It refers to the simplicity of being purely alive —— this conceptual state may have become more particular in times of the pandemic. While human beings are able to halt their activities, they are still different from automobiles. They are not able to halt their “engines” entirely, hence I refer to this state as a form of idling. Moreover, I thought one could also view such a situation as a type of garden scenario hence I titled the exhibition “idling garden”.

  • Installation Views: "idling garden 怠速花园", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Shanghai

    Photography by: Zhang Hong

  •  Can you please let us know how you are experiencing the Covid19 pandemic, in Japan? To what extent has your everyday life as an artist changed in self-quarantine? 

    Two years prior to the Covid-19 epidemic, I often went to China to interact with local artists, but this connection is now blocked by the pandemic. Now I have more time to re-organize the house, studio and yard, and to rest and care for my health, which I have not been able to in the past. I can also spend time with my family while making new works.

    • Nobuaki Takekawa A Mole's House That Resembles a Heart, 2021 Acrylic, pastel on paper mounted on wooden board 130.3 x 97 cm
      Nobuaki Takekawa
      A Mole's House That Resembles a Heart, 2021
      Acrylic, pastel on paper mounted on wooden board
      130.3 x 97 cm
    • Nobuaki Takekawa Camellia Flower & Ethnic Costume, 2020 Woodblock print on paper 130 x 97 cm Edition of 5
      Nobuaki Takekawa
      Camellia Flower & Ethnic Costume, 2020
      Woodblock print on paper
      130 x 97 cm
      Edition of 5
    • Nobuaki Takekawa SHRED YOUR RIGHT, 2018 Woodblock print on paper 130 x 97 cm Edition of 5
      Nobuaki Takekawa
      SHRED YOUR RIGHT, 2018
      Woodblock print on paper
      130 x 97 cm
      Edition of 5
  • — In what ways do you think your trips to Singapore, South Korea and China have inspired and shaped your... — In what ways do you think your trips to Singapore, South Korea and China have inspired and shaped your...

    — In what ways do you think your trips to Singapore, South Korea and China have inspired and shaped your creative process? What do you miss most about China?

    My connection with Singapore first began when I was a student in the late 1990s. Everything there is different from Japan, there were many aspects to learn from, but for Singapore I hope to put aside the tedious topics and be in touch intuitively, it’s almost like my second hometown. Regarding Korea, while participating in social campaigns and creating new works in the 2010s, the history of Korean art was like my textbook. It was a particular history that formed as a result of Western Art being introduced to Korea via Japan during the colonial period, and also socially-engaged art that emerged as a result of democratization in Korea. In China, I became friends with several artists, and was able to gain new perspectives. I miss China’s “malu”, otherwise known as millipede. It looks scary, but is quite adorable once you get used to it.

     

    Image 1: Nobuaki Takekawa (left) with his millipede swim ring and his friends Tang Dixin (middle) and Lu Jiawei (right)

    Image 2: Nobuaki Takekawa (right) and his friends Tang Dixin (left) and Zhou Yilun (top)

    "Huge Huge” residency project, Sifang Art Museum, 2018, Photography by: Wen Jun

  • — What is the best experience you would like to share for working with your talented artist friends across Asia?...

    Nobuaki Takekawa's tattoo, "a piece of duck blood"

    © Nobuaki Takekawa, Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts (Shanghai/Singapore/Tokyo)

    — What is the best experience you would like to share for working with your talented artist friends across Asia?
    Pondering a post-colonial perspective, it’s important to pause momentarily when faced with the term "Asia". At the same time, to avoid stubbornly holding onto a set of inconvertible truths, it’s also important not to pause. In terms of the latter, the experience of living with Chinese artists in Nanjing in 2018 was very precious to me. We once tattooed each other, it was a very interesting memory.

     

     

  • — Nature and animal are key motifs of your current exhibition at Ota Fine Arts Shanghai. Is there a specific reason why you chose them as a major source of inspiration of your works?

    When social issues become the subject of artworks, or when works are presented in regions with different political systems, anthropomorphic expression is a powerful method because it can present critical content in an entertaining way. Hence, achieving the purpose of delivering a clear message. Moreover, in globalized cities where Modern and Contemporary Art have been introduced, the universality of the Fable narrative form has the effect of reinforcing a succinct context.

  • Installation Views: "Cat Olympics: in memory of Torajiro 猫奥运:纪念虎二郎 ", 2017, Ota Fine Arts Shanghai  

    Photography by: Boyon Doron

  • — Many of your artworks are in part a response to specific social phenomena. To what extent do you think...

    Nobuaki Takekawa, Cat's Water Work Site, Acrylic on canvas, 194 x 259 cm

    © Nobuaki Takekawa, Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts (Shanghai/Singapore/Tokyo)

    — Many of your artworks are in part a response to specific social phenomena. To what extent do you think art can influence society, and how? What motivated you to create artworks which reflect these social issues?
    My motivation behind these works is the freedom found in art. Japan’s era of prioritizing development over historical issues is over, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is an example. Subsequently, it was like the opening of Pandora’s box, different social issues emerged one after another. The ‘oversimplification’ and ‘over superficial’ treatment of these issues may have resulted in the spread of prejudice, and enraged speech that threatens freedom of expression.

     

     

     

  • — Reviewing the original intention of creating the Cat Olympics themed installation art, is there any comment you would like to add for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics this July?
    In fact, prior to the Covid19 pandemic in Japan where the power of the state was declining, the lack of proper preparations for the Olympics already existed. Political failure resulted in rampant corruptions, budgets were inflated and yet the contents were not satisfactory. In addition, other social issues were exposed one after another. I think it would be wise for Japan to cancel the Olympics. Regardless, the "Human Olympics" this time can be seen as a failure.

    • Nobuaki Takekawa Drinking and Smoking After Lunch, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 122 x 152.5 cm
      Nobuaki Takekawa
      Drinking and Smoking After Lunch, 2020
      Acrylic on canvas
      122 x 152.5 cm
    • Nobuaki Takekawa Torajiro Living in the Sky, 2018 Watercolour on paper 66 x 97 cm , 71.4 x 4.5 x 102.3 cm (Frame size)
      Nobuaki Takekawa
      Torajiro Living in the Sky, 2018
      Watercolour on paper
      66 x 97 cm , 71.4 x 4.5 x 102.3 cm (Frame size)
    • Nobuaki Takekawa Cat's Water Work Site (Fear of Freedom), 2020 Acrylic and ink on canvas 122 x 145.5 cm
      Nobuaki Takekawa
      Cat's Water Work Site (Fear of Freedom), 2020
      Acrylic and ink on canvas
      122 x 145.5 cm
  • About the Artist

    Nobuaki Takekawa (b.1977) was born in Tokyo, Japan and received his BA in Fine Arts at the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2002. In recent years, Takekawa has participated in Yokohama Triennale 2020 -  AFTERGLOW, “Relay to Tokyo – Inheriting and Gathering”, Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens Greece, 2020, Roppongi Crossing 2019: Connexions: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 2019, Our Collections!: Tottori Prefectural Museum, Tottori Prefecture, Japan, 2019, Rebel Without a Cause: The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan, 2018, and the 9th Vladivostok International Biennale of Visual Arts, State Art Gallery of Primorsky region, Primorsky Krai, Russia. In 2018, Takekawa participated in the Sifang Art Museum residency "Huge Huge" in Nanjing, China. His works are held in public and private collections including the Ford Foundation, U.S.A, National Museum of Art, Osaka and the Collection Lambert, France, etc.

     

    To learn more about the artist, please click here.