Each bookstore will act as a concierge, recommending "the book you should read right now" to FASHION HEADLINE readers. Every Thursday, each branch of the art bookshop "NADiff" will introduce a recommended book. This time, we will be introducing the NADiff Apartment, the flagship store in Ebisu, Tokyo (1-18-4 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 1F NADiff A/P/A/R/T).
■ "Memorial, 53 Mosquitoes" by Aosaki Nobutaka
This book by New York-based artist Aosaki Nobutaka is based on the installation of the same name, which documents the spontaneous battles between the artist and mosquitoes that took place in his studio during the artist's two-month residency at the Skohiggen School of Art in Maine, USA, in the summer of 2015.
The frequent battles with mosquitoes that took place in the artist's studio during his stay. Each time, the artist recorded the time and date of death next to the mosquito's corpse, which was attached to the wall of his studio. To preserve this installation, he compiled these drawings of each mosquito's remains, one page per day, in chronological order, into a diary-style book. By observing and recording the reflexive, everyday behavior and action of "squashing mosquitoes," the book illuminates themes of life, death, and time. This book is both a memorial to the mosquitoes he killed and a record of the artist's paradoxical confirmation of his own life through their deaths.
By publicly revealing the mundane, everyday events that occur between him and the people and creatures he encounters, Aosaki offers viewers an opportunity to reexamine them.
Currently, two exhibitions are on view: "CHECK IN / CHECK OUT" at NADiff Window Gallery and "at the moment" at statements. These exhibitions showcase Aosaki's attempts to incorporate the results of everyday actions into his artworks and present them with a touch of humor. We hope you enjoy this book as well.
[Book Information]
Nobutaka Aozaki, "Memorial, 53 Mosquitoes"
Published by: Press for Arts
Edited and designed by: Kawamura Tadao
Paperback, perfect bound / 128 pages
Release Date: March 12, 2016
Price: 1,185 yen
[Exhibition Information]
■Nobutaka Aozaki "CHECK IN / CHECK OUT"
Venue: NADiff Window Gallery
Address: NADiff A/P/A/R/T 1F, 1-18-4 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Dates: June 14 - July 18
Time: 12:00 - 20:00
With the cooperation of: Kawamura Tadao, Tomii Motohiro, statements
Closed: Mondays (or the following Tuesday if Monday is a public holiday)
Free admission
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■Aozaki Nobutaka "at the moment"
Venue: statements
Address: 2-27-14-102 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Dates: May 14th - June 26th
Time: 13:00 - 20:00
Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays
Free admission
