Nakanojo Biennale 2011 | About Memories by Hiroko Kono

by Johnny on September 26, 2011

As promised, this week I’ll be selecting a few of my favorites from the massive collection of art currently on display at the Nakanojo Biennale. One of my favorite pieces is Hiroko Kono’s “About memories,” a towering wooden bookshelf that looks like something out of a Harry Potter movie.

About memories (2011). Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki

(detail)

Kono has been sculpting these bookshelves since 2009. What’s fascinating is that when you try and get a closer look at the bookshelf you quickly realize that all the detail vanishes and your left looking at just scraps of wood.

The artist also incorporates furniture and shelves from abandoned schools, which she travels to and picks out herself.

About memories (2010). Cultural museun of Izumo

(detail)

Just to clarify, images of the exact work installed at the Nakanojo Biennale were unavailable so these images are previously installed work.Below is one of the artist’s older pieces, before it was renamed to “About memories.”

Thinking－long time ago－(2009). The National Art Center,Tokyo