The Japan Foundation has officially released complete details on Japan’s national presentation at this year’s Venice Biennale. Located in the Giardini among other permanent pavilions, the Japanese Pavilion will be devoted this year to a solo presentation by artist Tabaimo, known for her multimedia installations examining contemporary Japanese society through surreal animations that recall the characteristic aesthetic of Edo-period ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Entitled “teleco-soup,” Tabaimo’s project for Venice will use multiple projectors and mirror panels to transform the Japanese Pavilion building, designed by architect Takamasa Yoshizaka and completed in 1956, into an immersive sensory environment. The exhibition title translates roughly to “inverted soup,” and is an oblique reference to the proverb attributed to the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, “A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean,” as well as an addendum to the Japanese version of the same, “But it knows the height of the sky.” Through an animated multi-channel projection, Tabaimo plans to turn the interior of the Japanese Pavilion into a well, and the open space beneath the Pavilion, which is raised on pilotis, into the sky. According to the press release, the work addresses Japan’s “Galapagos Syndrome,” a phrase used to describe incompatibilities between Japanese technology and international markets that also applies to other aspects of contemporary Japanese society. Tabaimo previously exhibited in Venice in 2007, when she was included in the curated exhibition of that year’s artistic director, Robert Storr, “Think with the Senses – Feel with the Mind: Art in the Present Tense.”
