Programs

03b

Main Program

Tomoko Konoike
Wolf Bench Main Program

2022
W1.9 x D0.8 x H1.1m
FRP, Water-based paint

[Date]
May 10 (Wed) – 28 (Sun), 10:00-18:00
*Part of the early viewing exhibition program
*Open from 10:00-20:00 on Fridays, Saturdays
*Closed on Tuesdays
May 27 (Sat) 10:00 - 28 (Sun) 18:00
[Place]
The National Art Center, Tokyo
[Participation fee]
Free
For Konoike, who has a deep interest in wild animals, wolves are one of her special motifs. In recent years, Konoike has used the skins of various animals exterminated as pests in her exhibits, starting with wolves, of which tens of thousands were killed each year in Mongolia at the time. Wolves, which appear in myths and religions around the world, including Japanese wolf worship, have been exterminated as harmful animals, even though they were an important part of the ecosystem in Japan's mountainous regions. But wolves are highly social, playful, affectionate animals, and can communicate quite well through howling. Sit in the Wolf Bench, catch the wolf's gaze, and howl like Konoike tried in her performance. Your sense of facing the world may be renewed, and the experience as an animal may begin.

ARTISTS

Tomoko Konoike

Tomoko Konoike continues to question the fundamentals of art through a variety of media including painting, sculpture, and performance, as well as site-specific expressions realized through travel.
Recent solo exhibitions include Fundamental Violence (2016), Kanagawa Prefectural Hall, The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma / Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Art Encouragement Prize; Fur Story (2018), Leeds Arts University; Hunter Gatherer (2018), Akita Museum of Modern Art, Japan; Chukagari (2020), Artizon Museum / Mainichi Art Prize; Birth of Miru (2022), Takamatsu City Museum of Art.
Group exhibitions include Temporal Turn (2016), Spencer Museum of Art / University of Kansas Museum of Natural History; Japan-Spirits of Nature (2017), Nordic Akbar Museum of Art; ECHOES FROM THE PAST (2018), Sinka Art Museum; Story-makers (2022), Japanese Cultural Centre Sydney. Her publications include Animal Words and picture books (Hatori Shoten).