‘Slime Mold: Moving and Gathering’ Information

Minakata Kumagusu is one of Japan’s leading intellectual giants born in Wakayama.

Minakata Kumagsu Archive, which permanently preserves Kumagusu’s collection of books and documents and conducts research on Kumagusu, will exhibit works that resonate with the world of slime mold, which Kumagusu studied throughout his life.

The video work by Geert Mul, in which what seems to be a natural object changes slowly and continuously, seems to evoke the movement of slime mold (even though the artist did not intend to do so).

Hirose, who has been showing his work at the Kinan Art Week since 2022 and is also involved in the Commons Farm art project, has been working with Kumagusu since his stay in Tanabe. Hirose will exhibit works inspired by Kumagusu’s philosophy of “Suiten”, which he created during his stay in Tanabe.

Yamada Shion will exhibit a video work in which the movements of a slime mold are traced using a human body.

Artists：Geert Mul（ Rotterdam）、HIROSE Satoshi（Milan）、YAMADA Shione（Japan）

【Venue】

MINAKATA KUMAGUSU ARCHIVES

Address：〒646-0035 36 Nakayashiki-machi Tanabe City Wakayama, Japan
Open：10:00- 17:00
Closing Day: 23 (Mon), 24 (Tues)
Contact: info@kinan-art.jp

【Artist】

Geert Mul
Geert Mul (1965) is a pioneer in the field of digital art and has been exploring for over 25 years the possibilities of a poetry in the language of new media. This resulted in a flow of experimental artworks in a wide range of media: prints, light-objects, video and interactive/generative computer installations. The interrelationship between technology and perception is a leitmotiv in the oeuvre of Geert Mul. After over 25 years of artistic practice, Geert Mul’s work has evolved into an exploration of the interconnectedness between humanity, technology, and nature. ‘I aim to reconceptualize the perceived divisions and connections between ‘man’, ‘technology’, and ‘the natural’,’. Mul emphasizes that it is literally of vital importance to acknowledge how technology determines our relationship with nature. Geert Mul studied art from 1985 -1990 at the HKA Arnhem where he graduated with computer animations, video and kinetic sculptures. After his studies, he traveled in Mexico, the United States and Asia. He resided for one year in Tokyo. Since 1993 Mul lives and works in Rotterdam, Holland. In the mid-1990s, Mul became one of the first VJ’s, in the alternative Techno scene. These events grew into interactive audio-visual environments, commissioned artworks and installations which were exhibited in a variety of contexts: public space, museums and festivals. Mul exhibited in major musea in The Netherlands: Kröller-Müller Museum, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. International: National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto Japan, Museo Nacional Reina Sofia Madrid, Institute Valencia Arte Moderne, Fondation Cartier, Paris, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Geert Mul lives and works in Rotterdam, is represented by gallery Ron Mandos, Amsterdam.

HIROSE Satoshi
Born in 1963, Tokyo. Currently lives and works in Milan. Based in Italy, he has participated in numerous exhibitions in Japan, Asia, Europe and other parts of the world. Satoshi Hirose is a contemporary artist who creates poetic works using the mediums of installation, environmental intervention, performance, sculpture, photography, drawing and, in a larger sense, projects. The creative principle of Hirose’s work is based on a de-disciplinary imagination, which links disparate cultures and objects across boundaries, consistently attempting to transform invisible concepts into tangible ones. He has been involved in a long-term project with mothers and children from a mother and child care home for 19 years, as well as an art project in which he works with local people to recycle materials used in his exhibitions.

YAMADA Shione
Graduated from Akita University of Art, majoring in Creative Manufacturing Design. Produced the video work “Research of Slime Molds” for the Omoriyama Art Project 2020, organized by Akita University of Art and Akita Omoriyama Zoo. Participated in the exhibition”Various things prepare daily life” at the Hajimari Art Center as a part of the Slime Molds Research Club, and created the installation work “Arrange the Midika-hokori”(The Slime Molds Research Club). Currently, apprenticing as a craftsman at Ohno Woodworks in Iwate Prefecture.