CHIHARU SHIOTA

(B.1972)

State of Being (Map)

Footnotes

Provenance
Der-Horng Gallery, Tainan
Private Collection, Asia
Acquired from the above by the present owner

塩田千春
存在的狀態 (地圖)
金屬 地圖 白線
2020年作

簽名：C.S (框内底部)

來源
台南，德鴻畫廊
亞洲私人收藏
現藏家得自上述來源

Chiharu Shiota's The State of Being (Map) uses her signature white threads and suspended maps to profoundly explore the intricate relationships among memory, identity, and the sense of belonging. The maps, hanging from and enveloped by countless white threads, weave a network of memories that exists between the physical and the psychological. This creates a space interlaced with emotions, guiding viewers into an experience that transcends the material and touches the depths of the inner self.

As an artist born in Japan and based in Berlin, Germany, Chiharu Shiota often centres her work around themes such as cultural displacement, the ambiguity of belonging, and the interplay between personal and collective memory. In The State of Being (Map), the map is chosen as a central symbol—an instrument originally meant to locate and make sense of the world, yet here, enshrouded and entangled in dense white threads, it becomes blurred and unfocused. This transformation symbolizes the drifting of identity and the loss of direction, reflecting the modern individual's sense of dislocation amid shifting cultures and self-identities.

In this work, the white threads are not merely a visual language but also carry rich cultural and symbolic meanings. In Japanese culture, the colour white simultaneously signifies purity and beginnings, while also evoking death and mourning. For Shiota, the white threads represent both a starting point and an ending point, embodying the cycles of life and the potential for rebirth. The countless interwoven strands trace a web of intricate connections, metaphorically reflecting the complexity of the world and prompting deep contemplation on the essence of existence. The foundation of these works lies in the artist's ongoing exploration of life and death, and in a fundamental question: Why are we born, and where are we ultimately headed.

塩田千春的作品《存在的狀態（地圖）》透過她標誌性的白色線網與懸掛的地圖，深刻探討了記憶、身份與歸屬感之間的錯綜關係。地圖被無數白色絲線懸吊並包圍於空間中，編織出一張介於實體與心理之間的記憶之網，更打開了一個情感交織的空間，引領觀者進入一種超越物質、觸及內心深處的經驗。

作為出生於日本、長居德國柏林的藝術家，塩田千春的創作常圍繞「文化流離」、「歸屬感的模糊性」及「個人與集體記憶」等主題。在《存在的狀態（地圖）》中，地圖被選為核心象徵，原本用於定位與理解世界的工具，卻在密密麻麻的白線纏繞下變得模糊、失焦，象徵身份的漂浮與方向的迷失，反映現代人在文化與自我認同中的游離狀態。

白線在作品中不僅是視覺語言，更蘊含豐富的文化與象徵意義。在日本文化中，白色同時象徵純潔與開始，也暗示死亡與哀悼。對塩田而言，白線既是起點也是終點，承載生命的循環與重生的可能。千絲萬縷的線條勾勒出無數交錯的連結，暗喻世界的複雜性，同時引發觀者對存在本質的深思。這些作品的底蘊源於藝術家對生與死的持續探索，以及一個根本的提問：我們究竟為何而生，又將走向何方。