Collective exhibition "Shiro: a scale of nuances"

In Japan, there is a unique color culture – known as Nihon no dentōshoku (“traditional colors of Japan,” in a free translation) – and among these colors, white resonates deeply with the Japanese, reflecting various perceptions evoked in their imagination such as peace, purification, lightness, silence, and even precision. It is this color that serves as the guiding thread of the exhibition “Shiro: a scale of nuances" (shiro means "white" in Japanese), which premieres on June 2nd on Japan House São Paulo (JHSP)The unprecedented exhibition remains on display on the ground floor of the institution until October 25th, with free admission.

Curated by the institution's cultural director, Natasha Barzaghi Geenen, the exhibition introduces various shades of white in Japan, exploring four elements: paper, silk, snow, and salt, revealing their relationship to Japanese culture. The inspiration for the selection came from reading Yasunari Kawabata's "Snow Country" (1948) during the JHSP + Quatro Cinco Um Book Club in June of last year, which describes the vast white landscapes of northern Japan and the process of bleaching fabric in the snow. "Shiro is not the result of a specific concept; it has a poetic and abstract inspiration. White, as a combination of all other colors, serves here as a symbolic starting point to consider how Japan carries so many nuances and subtleties, how it is a country of many shades that may go unnoticed, but not by the Japanese people, whose gaze is keen even for these minute differences in white," says Natasha.

Divided into four major thematic sections corresponding to each element, the exhibition invites visitors to delve into the symbolic nuances of color. Right at the entrance, a color chart with a selection of 19 shades of white cataloged in Japan represents the diverse nuances that a single color can have, based on the hundreds of traditional Japanese colors.

In the Paper section, the installation “Poem of Life,” by artist Ayumi Shibata, is made of countless sheets of paper cut using the kiri-e technique and tied together, symbolizing the artist's desire for peace and harmony in the world. The approximately three-meter-high work also explores the relationship between paper and light and shadow through a mirror at its base. In this section, the public can also learn about the production process of Kurotani Washi (traditional Japanese handmade paper), from the harvesting of Kōzo (mulberry) branches – the basis for its manufacture – to its final product. Samples of three types of fibers that give rise to washi – Kōzo, Mitsumata, and Gampi – will also be on display.

For the Silk section, artist Kaoru Hirano presents a work created specifically for the exhibition. Known for deconstructing clothing in her creations, Hirano chose to work with a white silk juban (a traditional Japanese garment worn under a kimono) from her paternal grandmother, who passed away in 2018, to create a kind of suspended web in the installation “untitled-grandmother”. The delicate site-specific work, almost 4 meters in diameter, reflects on affective memory and the bonds built (and deconstructed) within this family relationship. Samples of silkworm cocoons, threads, and fabric from the Japanese province of Gunma, a reference in silk production, will also be presented in this section, accompanied by a brief video introduction to silk production in Japan.

The Snow section focuses on the landscapes of Northern Japan, with its harsh winters that evoke a feeling of infinite white, as described in Kawabata's book. To represent this vastness, three photographs of Land Art (interventions made directly in the natural landscape) by the artist Tomohiro Kajiyama were selected, along with a video demonstrating the creative process. In these works, it is possible to see how the artist understands the snow-covered landscape as a blank canvas, instinctively walking across it with a pair of small skis, guided only by the images in his mind without the use of measuring tools. This process results in kilometers of lines that form complex designs, whose magnitude can only be contemplated from above. Ephemeral, Kajiyama's "Snow Art" pieces typically occupy areas of approximately 100m² each. “His creations begin before dawn, in the freezing silence, as the sky begins to change color, and continue into the afternoon, sometimes extending over several days. According to the artist, each step he takes to compact the snow represents his philosophy of sculpting his own life with a positive mindset, even in the face of adversity,” explains the curator.

Snow is such a common element in daily life in Japan that the Japanese have even developed a glossary dedicated to describing its various forms – whether it's the fine snow that looks like powder, or the soft snow that resembles mochi (glutinous rice cake).

Just like snow, salt is also special in the daily lives of the Japanese. Although Japan is a country surrounded by sea, its environment is not conducive to salt production. Therefore, since ancient times, salt production has been done using a two-step method: concentrating seawater in salt pans, and the evaporation process through boiling. This method remains in practice to this day, even though production is mostly done industrially. Besides being used as a seasoning and preservative, salt is also a ritual object in the Shinto tradition. The popular practice of creating small mounds of salt and leaving them near the entrances of houses, establishments, or shrines, as a way to attract good luck and ward off evil spirits, is called morishio or morijio. Among the numerous variations of salt found in the world, the exhibition presents five types, originating from different regions of Japan, highlighting their different characteristics and granulations.

The exhibition is also part of the JHSP Accessible program, offering a WebApp with accessible content and translated texts in English, Spanish, and Japanese, as well as tactile resources, audio description, and videos in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) to provide accessibility to all visitors.

Exhibition | Shiro: a scale of nuances
From June 02th to October 25th
Tuesday to Friday, from 10am to 18pm; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from 10am to 19pm