Mom and Dad
on the Cliff

The Distance Between Oneself and Others
Chika Kato, Curator of Mom and Dad on the Cliff, Artist

In her works, Hiroko Watanabe has continued to take different approaches to the theme of “others” and to the boundaries that separate the two sides of “oneself” and “others,” via using a variety of materials and showing them in various locations. The motif of “letters/characters made from ice,” which she has repeatedly used in her videos, originated out of her many earlier attempts. The aim of this motif is to convey the idea behind “cycle,” which she refers to as an existence in the great world that is “still imperceptible.”

For this exhibition at HIGURE 17-15 cas, aside from her new video installation, Watanabe will also create a room by recomposing the one in her parent’s house from memory. It will then be arranged with articles that were left behind by her deceased grandmother, as well as with Watanabe’s own works. Through the experience of losing her grandmother, she explores the outline of her own existence; the whereabouts of the feeling of “blessing;” and how to place suitable distance and form a relationship with the deceased. She questions whether it is really possible for one to measure the distance between the self and someone who is his/her loved one but also an absolute other (representing the dead or death). The viewers, as “others” visiting her room, will be able to share the various attempts made by the artist.