CHIHARU SHIOTA

In her installation at Istanbul Modern, the artist wraps the entire gallery with web-like red threads and places the suitcases inside this intricate mass, emphasizing the theme of “presence in the absence.” Red, the color most frequently used by the artist, represents the flow of blood and life coursing through veins, metaphorically connecting people, emotions, and memories.

Each suitcase represents an individual from the artist’s perspective. Tied together with red threads, these suitcases create a visual narrative that makes the viewer question both personal and collective themes such as home, belonging, and identity. In this manner, Shiota weaves concepts of time, space, movement, and memory into her installations, and invites the viewers to engage both physically and emotionally to complete their experience. Beyond the objects they carry, suitcases also serve as conveyors of symbols, carrying emotions and memories, bridging the past and the future.

Drawing inspiration from Istanbul’s cosmopolitan identity and the artist’s own migration story, “Between Worlds” constructs a contemplative space that invites viewers to reflect on their own lives, memories, and relationships within the broader universal context of humanity. Thus, Shiota’s universe of threads is not only visually captivating but also an invitation to delve into the labyrinth of one’s inner world.