hoffmann

in focus:

yoko terauchi, ebb & flow—on site ii

"ebbe & flut" was realized as part of yoko terauchi's solo exhibition at galerie hoffmann in 1991. while site sensitive works traditionally emphasize the significance of their own location, in this case, additionally, the viewer’s location is highlighted. as the following documentation demonstrates, visitors were confronted with oppositional versions of one and the same work, depending on their position inside the gallery. this viewing room attempts to provide even another angle, 30 years later.

view of installation from "yoko terauchi" at edition & galerie hoffmann, "ebbe & flut" (1991), paper, torn, 227 x 407 x 420 cm

view of installation from "yoko terauchi" at edition & galerie hoffmann, "ebbe & flut" (1991), paper, torn, 227 × 407 × 420 cm

i am not interested in forcing a material into any symbolic shapes. i only lead the material towards a new condition in which the opposite natur—'front & back', 'inside & outside'—become the same thing

yoko terauchi, 1991

people tend to see things like 'right &wrong', 'inside & outside', 'more or less' as an opposite nature.

but i wonder are they really different from each other?

they might look different depending on where you are and who you are.

like ebb & flow, in reality the amount of sea water is just the same. my work is about questioning such values and to deny the necessity for this type of segregation.

when the same thing is evaluated differently: as entirely opposite, i believe it is because the viewer is placed in the central position of judgement.

if the self is used as a standard, things are distinguished and evaluated only from one position.

the result, while being a declaration of one's own position, may not be an expression of the true state of the world.

my work attempts to show 'a world without conflicting relationships' in a visual form, in order to reveal the meaninglessness of segregation by the fundamental character of the materials.

i am not interested in forcing a material into any symbolic shapes.

i only lead the material towards a new condition in which the opposite nature—'front & back', 'inside & outside'—become the same thing.

in the process the material changes its own shape, and its internal balance adapts to this reorganisation.

so the final shape and size of my works are determined by each single piece of material.

in this way i could present my opinion through 'a shape' which is neither description nor record.

the recent series 'air castle' extends the previous paper and wire works, but in contrast only a small part of the whole work is perceivable.

because only a small part of the world can be seen by any human being, this series uses the planes of the walls and floor as a material equivalent to this fraction, while the work as a whole extends beyond to infinity.

the graphite fan shapes are the border of interior and external space and the visualization of contact when three spherical forms encounter a rectangular room, or when bubbles stick togehter. at the corner, where the three fan shapes come in contact, we see a funnel shape with the inside and outside painted apart by graphite and red pigment.

although this funnel can be considered the 'slack' from the floor fan shape, it does not resolve the entire realization of the unseen spheres · it reveals that 'rational analysis' cannot explain the whole universe as there is 'no standard.' our perception of the world is of an 'air castle.'

yoko terauchi, 1991

view of installation: "ebbe & flut" (1991), paper, torn, 227 x 407 x 420 cm

view of installation: "ebbe & flut" (1991), paper, torn, 227 × 407 × 420 cm

view of installation: "ebbe & flut" (1991), paper, torn, 227 x 407 x 420 cm

view of installation: "ebbe & flut" (1991), paper, torn, 227 × 407 × 420 cm

yoko terauchi and slu installing "ebbe & flut" in the ground floor gallery space in görbelheimer mühle 1

yoko terauchi and slu installing "ebbe & flut" in the ground floor gallery space in görbelheimer mühle 1

photo: wolfgang lukowski

yoko terauchi and slu installing "ebbe & flut" in the ground floor gallery space in görbelheimer mühle 1

yoko terauchi and slu installing "ebbe & flut" in the ground floor gallery space in görbelheimer mühle 1

photo: wolfgang lukowski

view of installation: "air castle" (1991), graphite powder and acrylic on wall, dimensions variable

view of installation: "air castle" (1991), graphite powder and acrylic on wall, dimensions variable

photo: wolfgang lukowski

view of invitation for "yoko terauchi" at galerie hoffmann, 1991

view of invitation for "yoko terauchi" at galerie hoffmann, 1991

werke

ebb & flow

yoko terauchi

ebb & flow

2022

pigment auf papier, reißzeichnung

motiv 20 x 10 x 4cm, gerahmt 32 x 32 x 7cm

edition hoffmann

auflage von 5 + 1 e.d’a.

anfragen

pangea

yoko terauchi

pangea

2021

papier, acrylfarbe, installation

unmeasurable (beyond the building itself)

konton

yoko terauchi

konton

1993

mischtechnik, installation

unmeasurable (what you can see is only a part of the whole)

supported by the federal minister for culture and media, neustart kultur and stiftung kunstfonds

Gefördert von der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien
Gefördert durch Neustart Kultur
Gefördert von der Stiftung Kunstfonds