Kazumi Tanaka: An Intimate Room

1995

This installation strongly focuses on house objects, which reflect my experience and the memories of childhood in Japan.

Objects such as “Day To Day” 1995, a wooden bathtub that drips water onto a rock suspended over a woven fishing line, express the relaxation and healing process in daily life.

When I was a child, the objects in my house had many hidden secrets.  I have incorporated these memories into “The Chocolate Boot” 1995 (clock, dresser, chair).  I reproduced my parents’ dresser in Japan.  Searching the dresser for hidden presents or surprised during their absence, I heard the sound of a clock ticking as if to discourage me from snooping.

In this dresser, some of the drawers were made like the original, with harmonicas inserted in the back, which produce sounds when the drawers are pushed closed.  Also there are a pair of “automatic” sliding doors that close by rock-counter weighs, so when the viewer slides this door, it shuts by itself.  To me, the sense of forbiddenness, which every child experiences, is everywhere throughout this installation.

It is a true story that I found a chocolate boot sitting on top on my mother’s dresser.  With this boot, I try to symbolize the child’s desire, and the high chair illustrates the sense of a child trying to reach it.  To express a child’s endless curiosity and desire, I created a sequence of drawers less than a quarter inch wide.  Similar to the Russian dolls within dolls.  The clock was made entirely by hand to express this personal moment in my memory.