TOMOKO NAGAI: HOUSE
Perrotin is pleased to announces House by Tomoko Nagai. A gentle breeze stirs; butterflies flutter their wings; a teddy bear sits in the room, smiling; the crescent moon casts a soft, pearlescent glow over the kitchen; leaves seem to nestle, tenderly drooping, lulling a little girl into her dreams.
May 31 - July 13, 2024
Home represents the initial physical space where individuals first perceive and comprehend the world through their bodies. This corporeal journey extends from one’s home to the surroundings and, ultimately, to the city one inhabits. Nagai vividly remembers an abandoned station near her childhood home, where an object by the tracks—perhaps a part used in freight trains—had the shape of a dog.
The physical cognizance nurtured in the sanctuary of the home seems increasingly inadequate under the weight of these pressures. The cherished, lighter moments of memory are on the brink of vanishing.
According to the artist, “There are many things in the real world I adore, such as exquisite landscapes and majestic forests. When I encounter these captivating tableaux, I think to myself, ‘If only something could be added.’ So, I embellish reality through my imagination, bringing it closer to my ideal world.” Nagai traverses reality and fantasy, never tethered exclusively to either.
In Tea Time (2023), a teddy bear sits atop a lion, preparing for afternoon tea with friends. In Bath Living (2023), the bear luxuriates in a bathtub and greets “the little sprites” in the bushes as light filters through the leaves, casting fluttering shadows reminiscent of butterflies. Nagai’s acute observations and perceptions recall Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things.
As Lucretius wrote, it is only in a darkened room that we can see the movement of particles in sunlight. Perhaps it is our experiences of loss and decay, or the harshness we face in reality, that draw us closer and make us cherish these fragile, ephemeral shimmering particles—the serene and beautiful scenes depicted by Nagai.
Through her creations, we are invited to construct a new home for our adult selves, a place shaped by our individual visions. This home is a vessel of cherished memories, “a portal to fantastical worlds and a refuge from the brutality of reality,” offering us a fresh start.