[Title] unreal
[Artist] Takashi Kuribayashi
[Date] January 15 – March 16, 2004
The 2004 annual theme is “Colours and Fantasy.” The first artist to take up the challenge is Takashi Kuribayashi, who is interested in “boundaries.” “Boundaries” here have various meanings. In addition to national boundaries, there is sea vs. land, nature vs. artifice, reality vs. fantasy… the line separating the two worlds also exists in this window. In the top half, the real world is expressed: a carpet is laid, adorned by furniture and home-line products. The bottom half, in contrast, expresses fantasy: it is a mysterious world overgrown with plants, where a handbag and shoes create tornados. The front right conveys the theme of “Colour,” using rich colours unique to Hermès, whereas the front left displays products in black and white.
The products adorning the two worlds show that Hermès goes beyond the “boundaries” of reality and fantasy. Furthermore, there appears a penguin, a creature that exists beyond boundaries in the natural world. Living freely between land and sea, penguins have in common with Hermès the idea of “existing beyond boundaries.” The penguin is the protagonist in the twelve small windows. Made of wetsuit material and Hermès’ zipper, a black and white penguin carries a ring on its head and playfully shows its face from the water.
Kuribayashi created a harmony between the products of Hermès and his unique expression of “Colours and Fantasy.” His serious commitment and adherence to perfection gives the window the strength to convey its theme. And above all, it is perhaps because the artist himself exists beyond boundaries, living in both reality and fantasy.
Takashi Kuribayashi
Artist born in 1968 in Nagasaki prefecture. Kuribayashi graduated from the Musashino Art University in 1993 and Kunstakademie Dusseldorf in 2002. His artistic activities are based in Germany, but also in Holland and the United States. Kuribayashi exhibited an installation in the 2003 “Out of Blue” Exhibition (Tokyo).