Period:
2025.9.27(Sat.) - 2025.11.24(Mon./holiday)
Born in Nigeria and currently based in Belgium, Otobong Nkanga is known for her practice that focuses on the narratives and political implications associated with the soil, land, sea, and other elements of the natural environment as they relate to humans. At this exhibition, Nkanga will present the new work created in collaboration with local artisans and artists mainly based in Ishikawa Prefecture resulting from research into the diversity of materials and craft techniques that she explored last summer during her residency in the region, alongside a tapestry by the artist that was acquired by the museum last fiscal year.
Shaped by Many, which was created for this exhibition, is a stick-shaped work that combines various traditional techniques and materials from the prefecture, such as Wajima lacquerware, Yamanaka lacquerware, Suzu ware, and Noto-jofu (ramie fabric), based on a design by Nkanga. A performance in which two people carry the work and tell stories related to these scattered materials and techniques is also an important element of the work. Performers from diverse backgrounds, including the artisans involved in the creation of this work, researchers studying the Noto peninsula, and performance artists with ties to Ishikawa Prefecture, will be present at the museum every weekend during the exhibition period.
While Ishikawa Prefecture is renowned across Japan for its many traditional crafts, opportunities for creators from different fields to collaborate and produce a single work have been rare. As the title “Shaped by Many” suggests, this work transcends the boundaries between craft and contemporary art, and even straddles the borders between different crafts, weaving together the memories of this land into a new narrative.