Requiem for the XX Century
Self-Portraits in Motion
11 January–25 February 2012
Ikkan Art International
39 Keppel Road #01-05
Tanjong Pagar Distripark
Singapore 089065
11 am–7 pm Tues–Sat
12 Non–5 pm Sun
Closed Pub Holidays
Ikkan Art International is honored to present the exhibition “Morimura Yasumasa: Requiem for the XX Century – Self-Portraits in Motion.”
Morimura Yasumasa, born in 1951 in Osaka, Japan, is an internationally renowned appropriation artist. Through the extensive use of props, costumes and make-up, Morimura masterfully transforms himself into recognizable icons and subjects that punctuate the Western cultural canon. His unsettling deconstruction of iconic images challenges the assumptions already placed on such works/images while commenting on Japan’s complex and conflicting absorption of Western culture. His ability to satirize and simultaneously create homage of his source material is what makes Morimura’s work particularly forceful and effective.
Morimura’s latest series, the Requiem, has recently been shown in multiple museums and galleries in Europe, U.S.A. and Japan and this exhibition marks his first solo exhibition in Singapore. Based on the theme of ‘the men of the twentieth century’ the Requiem series considers the history and significance of the construction, war and destruction that symbolized this period and attempts to answer the question; what was the twentieth century?
A requiem is a religious service for the repose of the souls of the dead. The object of these works is to look at the era of men that has now passed, to offer respect to its ideologies, and to verify the meaning of forgotten memories in order to pass them on to the twenty-first century.
In addition to his usual still photography, Morimura’s recent works and the focus of this exhibition are the video works of his performances. Ikkan Art Gallery has been transformed into several mini movie theatres where audience can enjoy the room-size projected video works, Morimura’s self-portraits in motion.
About Morimura Yasumasa
Morimura’s solo exhibitions have been shown at the following museums (partial listing):
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1992), Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art in Jouy-en-Josas, France (1993), Hara Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan (1994), Center for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne; Yokohama Museum of Art in Yokohama, Japan (1996), Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (1998), Fondacion Telefonica, Madrid, Spain (2000), Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2006), Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice, Italy; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (2007), Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Toyota; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima (2010) and Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe, Japan (2011).
He was nominated for the Hugo Boss Prize in 1996. In November 2011, he received a medal from the Japanese Government for his achievements in arts – “The Medal of The Purple Ribbon”
About Ikkan Art International
Ikkan Art International was established by Ikkan Sanada in 1982 as a private art dealer and consulting/advisory firm based in New York. Founded on the values of integrity and discretion as top business priorities, Ikkan Art provides purchasing and selling advices as well as related infrastructure and assistance to an elite group of international clients.
In May 2011, Ikkan Art International expanded into Singapore to create, organize and launch key exhibition programs through Ikkan Art Gallery, a 8,000 sq ft gallery space with over 6 meters ceiling.
Inquiries: Rosalind Lim +65 9634 9797 limros@ikkan-art.com
