Chiharu Shiota's 'The Soul Trembles' Travels to Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Chiharu Shiota, known for immersive thread installations visualizing memory and absence, will present her traveling solo exhibition 'The Soul Trembles' at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in September 2026. The exhibition, previously shown at other venues, envelops brutalist interiors with constellations of thread. Shiota, born in Osaka and based in Berlin, uses everyday objects like shoes, keys, suitcases, and windows to materialize personal and collective histories. Her recent London show 'Threads of Life' ran February 18–May 3 at Hayward Gallery. Shiota's major works include 'House of Windows,' 'Uncertain Journey,' 'In Silence,' and 'The Key in the Hand' at the 56th Venice Biennale Japanese Pavilion. She describes her practice as exploring memory, existence, and absence, often triggered by personal experiences such as returning to Japan after years in Germany and finding old shoes no longer fit. Shiota collects objects like keys, noting that donors often wrote that keys belonged to deceased persons, carrying memories. She resists a singular cultural reading, stating her work is shaped more by Berlin than Japan. Her studio is used for testing materials and making sculptures; installations are created on-site. Shiota has been diagnosed with cancer twice, which deepened her questions about death. She now feels she has two home countries, Japan and Germany.