The Brigade Hermètsch – Tetsuya Tamanoi

[Title] The Brigade Hermètsch
[Artist] Tetsuya Tamanoi
[Date] September 17 – November 17, 2009

The extraordinary within the ordinary.
By all estimates, a circus is an experience that instantly whisks us away to an extraordinary and alternative world. In this latest window, Hermès products are evolved into an imaginary circus troupe, supported by the showcasing of a delightful range of acrobatics and other stunts.

In this undertaking, artist Tetsuya Tamanoi has created the Hermès circus troupe to express “Beautiful Escape,” the Hermès annual theme for 2009. If the truth were told, the numerous elements that traditionally emerge from a circus – the thrills, excitement, pathos, beauty, fantasy, joy and more – are all contained in the realm of escapism. In this unique window art, working within the context of a circus, the artist visualizes such elements in brilliantly fun and exhilarating fashion.

Comprising this circus panorama are Hermès products and a dynamic lineup of sweets. The ball used in a ball-balancing act, for example, is a mouth-watering cream donut, while both a ladder and gloves fingering their way across a tightrope are made of chocolate. The sweets coax out the common themes of “memories of childhood flavors” and “kawaii,” which in fact function as the guiding motif in much of Tamanoi’s creative work.

For human beings, there are many number of childhood experiences, notions and other factors that continue to be innately reflected in who and what we are today. Such largely instinctive forces blend to form our psyches, and continue to support the roots of our existing mindsets as adult members of the species. Here, the circus troupe developed from sweets appears in the window as a reenactment of the “candy land” visions from our dreams as children, portrayed in equally delightful and adorable images. In that sense, this window entices passersby into the world of the Hermès circus troupe, and then even further back to the sweet and dreamy dimensions that we embraced as impressionable young children.

In this window, the “Hermèstsch” circus troupe has alighted on the scene in a hot-air balloon engineered from a fashionable Hermès scarf. In this outlandish yet charming world, the products also execute nimble and thrill-packed feats. There is little doubt, when all is said and done, that those pausing to gaze into this glass-encased domain will feel a strong and passionate pull to stage their own special “Beautiful Escape.”

Tetsuya Tamanoi
Born in Yamanashi in 1970. Before commencing his career of artistic design and production, Tamanoi worked as an employee of Japan Agriculture Cooperatives, sold Buddhist altar items and owned and operated a club-format drinking establishment. Since 2000, he has devoted the lion’s share of his time and energies to excelling as a creator of contemporary art. In 2009, he presented a one-man show at the MORI YU GALLERY, TOKYO.

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