Game On! Artist talk by Kosuge1-16

Kosuge1-16 is a Tokyo-based artist unit, renowned for transforming gallery spaces into magical environments through their extraordinary large-scale playful sculptures and interactive installations. The duo, consisting of Chishino Kurumada and Takashi Tsuchiya, draw their inspiration from popular games and sports, creating magnificent works including a blown-up life-sized table football, which was exhibited at many places including the 2005 Yokohama Triennale*, and giant paper-doll sumo wrestling. Through these works, Kosuge1-16, rather than keeping audiences as mere onlookers, encourage them to physically participate and collaborate, providing a gateway for people to connect directly with the artworks.

 

To mark their residency and first solo UK exhibition The Playmakers at mac birmingham**, the artists have created a large-scale playground for children bringing nature into the gallery.  The Japan Foundation has invited the duo to reveal their creative process and ideas behind such interactive projects, demonstrating that art can be fun. In a discussion to follow, they will be joined by Debbie Kermode, curator of The Playmakersand Frances Williams, Head of Education at South London Gallery, to further explore the issues surrounding participatory art and how such projects can help encourage communities of varied social backgrounds to come together and engage with the arts.

 

With Kosuge1-16’s frequent theme of sports and games, this talk will make a perfect match to this summer’s London 2012 Olympics. 

*The 2005 Yokohama Triennale was organised by The Japan Foundation
** The Playmakers exhibition at mac birmingham is supported by The Japan Foundation

Image credit: AC-no.4 project (2005) © Ryosuke Ishida

 

The exhibition The Playmakers will be at mac birmingham from 7th July until the 9th September 2012.  For more information, please click here