Chiharu Shiota to present installation 'The Key in the Hand' at Japan Pavilion for 2015 Venice Biennale

Chiharu Shiota will represent Japan at the 2015 Venice Biennale with a new installation titled 'The Key in the Hand' in the Japan Pavilion, located in the Giardini. The work incorporates two boats, red yarn, and numerous keys collected from the public, each imbued with personal memories. Shiota collaborates with curator Nakano Hitoshi, who previously organized a solo exhibition of her work in Kanagawa in 2007. She notes that representing her country differs from her usual practice, as she has not previously identified strongly with her Japanese nationality while living abroad in Germany for 17 years. Shiota recalls early memories of the biennale from 1990, when her art school teacher Saburo Muraoka represented Japan, and highlights Harald Szeemann's curatorship in 2001 as particularly influential for supporting Chinese artists. She looks forward to seeing works by other artists at the biennale, including Céleste Boursier-Mougenot in the French Pavilion and Olaf Nicolai in the German Pavilion, both of whom she has exhibited with previously. Shiota emphasizes that art has always been more important to her than identity, and she prefers to focus on her artwork rather than specific audiences during the event. The online exclusive was published on 15 April 2015 by ArtReview as part of a questionnaire series leading up to the biennale opening.