Dazed & Confused Shimabuku Inspiration Can Be Found In Everything: A talismanic vision of kites floating in a sea-sky of celestial blue was Shimabuku’s contribution to last year’s Venice Biennale. This Japanese multi-media artist has exhibited widely. His playful video piece in which he catches a live octopus and takes him on a sightseeing tour of Tokyo was one of the highlights at the Hayward Gallery’s Facts of Life exhibition in 2001. In fact, octopi are a recurrent theme in his work, as well as a fondness for monkeys, bears, mermaids, white elephants and cucumber relish. Shimabuku is a traveller whose questioning mind takes him around the world creating projects that explore different cultures, myths and codes of behaviour. His interest in British culture led him to conduct a journey on a canal boat upstream to Birmingham whilst pickling cucumbers. He is seduced by the minutiae of human and animal life. His world is inclusive, where there is great empathy for all creatures, not just humans. ‘I enjoy this relationship with creatures. It is always a mystery about how they are feeling, but it is still possible for humans and other creatures to do something together,’ he claims. A recent project, for Swansea’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, saw him organise a dog swimming competition in memory of Swansea’s famous life-rescue dog, Jack. But it is the octopus that Shimabuku holds most affection for and he says, with some wistfulness, ‘I am trying to know him, but I still don’t know him very well. ’Shimabuku is exhibiting at London’s Wilkinson Gallery in July. Here are three things that captivate his curious mind. Fish and Chips I love cooking and eating. I am always amazed by food. There are so many surrealistic encounters between ingredient and ingredient. Fish & Chips? Fish from the sea meet potatoes from ground. Who found this combination? Who was the first man to eat raw fish? Who was the first who thought we could eat octopus? Were there any people who tried to eat stone? When I was in China last year I ate the bark of a tree! It was fried. The pattern on the bark looked like the skin of a frog, so that food was called ‘Frog’s skin’. I think the history of food is beautiful and interesting. Football in Brazil In Brazil, very young kids and old men, all generations, watch football on TV together. They get excited together. When I was in Brazil, I envied this. In my country, Japan, we have lost anything we can really get excited about together. Now we have three TVs in each family, and we watch different programs in one house. We have lost a common topic to talk about. Football is so simple. It makes people one. The Pied Piper of Hamelin The people of Hamelin broke their promise with this man, which is why he disappeared with all the children from the town, luring them away with music. The story of the Pied Piper is always in my head. It is a great metaphor for the artist, like me, who is dealing with the city and people. It helps us think about the relationship between each individual and society. It is also helps us think about the stranger in the society. Where did the children go? The adults in the town were sad, but the children might have had a happier life elsewhere.		Next article >