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Title

Memory-90-VII (Ayers Rock)

1990

Artist

Saitō Takeshi

Japan

1943 –

No image

  • Details

    Place where the work was made
    Japan
    Period
    Heisei period 1989 - → Japan
    Date
    1990
    Media category
    Print
    Materials used
    etching and aquatint
    Edition
    5/50
    Dimensions
    54.5 x 81.0 cm image; 61.5 x 88.0 cm sheet
    Signature & date

    Signed and dated l.r., pencil "(illeg.) '90".

    Credit
    Gift of the artist 1993
    Location
    Not on display
    Accession number
    454.1993
    Artist information
    Saitō Takeshi

    Works in the collection

    1

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  • About

    Born in Yamanashi Prefecture where he still lives, and educated at Musashino Art University, Saito's prints are enigmatic yet emotive vestiges of recollections.

    For an exhibition to England he produced an image of the third millennium BC stone circle of Stonehenge, that nation's most revered primeval monument. Likewise for Australia he has produced this wrapped image of Ayers Rock, with its aura of uncontrollable power. Saito moulded a sheet of lead into the image of Ayers Rock which he regards as the symbol of nature. His print is a monument to modern society, our transmutation of nature, our attempts to dominate it. His shrouded shape is rich in resonances, evoking, for example, the surrealist 'Enigma of Isadora Duncan' by Man Ray (a wrapped and bound sewing machine), and Christo's wrapped landscapes. Like those works, his image challenges our habitual perception, investing the familiar with new significance and suddenly making it the focus of our awareness.

    Jackie Menzies, Contemporary Japanese Prints: The Urban Bonsai, 1992, pg. 68, 85.

  • Places

    Where the work was made

    Japan

  • Exhibition history

    Shown in 1 exhibition

    • The Urban Bonsai, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 04 Mar 1992–04 May 1992

      The Urban Bonsai, National Art Gallery, Wellington, Wellington, 20 Jun 1992–09 Aug 1992

      The Urban Bonsai, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch, 12 Sep 1992–29 Oct 1992

      The Urban Bonsai, Manawatu Art Gallery, New Zealand, 13 Nov 1992–10 Jan 1993

      The Urban Bonsai, The George Adams Gallery, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, 18 Mar 1993–25 Apr 1993

      The Urban Bonsai, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 08 May 1993–01 Aug 1993

      The Urban Bonsai, Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest, Emu Plains, 11 Mar 1994–24 Apr 1994

      The Urban Bonsai, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra, 19 May 1994–19 Jun 1994

      The Urban Bonsai, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown, 15 Jul 1994–21 Aug 1994

      The Urban Bonsai, Bank Art Museum Moree, Moree, 11 Nov 1994–24 Dec 1994

      The Urban Bonsai, Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre, Murwillumbah, 01 Feb 1995–05 Mar 1995

  • Bibliography

    Referenced in 1 publication