The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, located in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, is currently hosting Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller's first large-scale solo exhibition in Asia, "Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller," which runs until March 10, 2018.


This exhibition features eight installations, including recent large-scale works and new works, all of which will be shown in Japan for the first time. Each installation is housed in an independent exhibition space at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and multiple narratives unfold in harmony.

Their works, which utilize advanced audio-visual technology and original forms, involve a complex sensory experience of both hearing and seeing, drawing the viewer into the unique world of their creation as if under a spell. In Japan, in addition to "Motet for 40 Voices," which was exhibited at Maison Hermès, they have also exhibited several works at art festivals such as the Yokohama Triennale, Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, and Setouchi Triennale. This is a great opportunity to fully experience the world of their work, which continues to receive high praise in the contemporary art scene.


"The Marionette Maker" (2014) is a nested work in which the inhabitants of a woman's dream, writing down the dream world while she sleeps in a trailer, then recreating that dream. Inside an old camper trailer, a small world of marionettes unfolds, with the marionettes and animals dancing to the music. The viewer is enveloped in a mysterious atmosphere, as if they are also exploring the world within her dream.


"The Carnie" (2010) is a work that depicts an eerie carnival scene, drawing the viewer into a world of nightmares and madness. Various wooden animals, including horses, giraffes, and deer, from an antique merry-go-round built in the 1940s and likely to have toured carnivals around the country, spin around bathed in dazzling light. Strange sounds play from speakers attached to the animals' mouths, and old mannequins hanging from the canopy float in the air like angels.


"Conversation with Antonello" (2015) was presented at the National Gallery in London in 2015 as part of the exhibition "Soundscapes." It is based on the painting "Saint Jerome in His Study" (1475) by Venetian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina, which is housed in the gallery's collection. The detailed two-dimensional spatial expression, influenced by the Flemish school, is transformed into a three-dimensional architectural model, allowing visitors to peer into it and experience it in three dimensions from various angles.