Yamanaka Suplex annex MINE presents “The Road Not Taken・岐路”, a two-person exhibition of the works of Zhou Yiqiao (b.1995 Hunan, China; lives and works in Kyoto, Japan) and Talia Falcon Nizarane (b.1997 Havana, Cuba; lives and works in London, UK). Meeting at Kyoto the two found an instant connection with one another in recognizing shared complexities of their backgrounds which inspired this collaboration. Through living with stereotypes from the gaze of others, Zhou and Nizarane reveal fragile realities that are realized in their works through self-exploring processes that confront issues with their own identities. Recognizing their mutual efforts, MINE (read as MI’NE in Japanese) as a platform created to embody the self, the individual, provides two intimate rooms in one space for the two to claim their individuality and to recognize interrelatedness through exhibiting together.

At the center of the tatami room exhibits Zhou’s sculptural hands Shuang Xi 双喜 (2022). It is one of her latest works using the motif of the orchid finger gesture, a traditional element deriving from genderless Buddhist statues that eventually became a common gesture of tragic female characters in traditional Chinese opera performances. The obsessive repetition of the orchid finger in Zhou’s work confronts the fact how feminine and masculine identities are still trapped in traditional ideals in Chinese culture. Her emphasis in making the gesture ‘decorated’ and ‘joyous’ is an effort to take away the negative connotations that have been implied by society.

The other room exhibits Nizarane’s work Self Preservation (2022). This piece is her first attempt with the urushi material and it explores how natural elements such as water claim their space within a world that has been modified around human needs. By preserving the form of puddles, Nizarane depicts the fragility of the rainwater but also identifies the persisting and resilient capacity of nature. Water is a recurring element in her works as it is related to her home country Cuba being surrounded by the sea, but also resonates with the Cuban immigrant histories with the US. Her confrontation towards the hidden tensions of the world can also be seen in her video work A Game of Pretend (2022) where a pair of hands are in constant rivalry and move in an interrelated manner.

The title of this exhibition The Road not Taken references American poet Robert Frost’s depiction of a speaker facing two choices of roads in a forest, an inevitable moment which all of us must face in life. The phrase ‘The Road not Taken’ may refer to the act of taking a path that most have neglected while simultaneously referring to the other road that was not chosen. This dual meaning implies that the artists have decided on a non-conventional path while also questioning the other opposite path that represents the vast majority and the validity of it. The road Nizarane and Zhou have picked is adventurous but also a lonely one, one that comes with loss, sacrifices but also ambiguity, yet both have made the conscious choice to confront fragile realities of the cultural and historical issues of their homelands.

Venue：MINE 5F（ NANEI Shinmachi bld. 2-9-4 Shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Osaka 550-0013, Japan）

Admission Free

Curatorial Team

Ellan Huang

Born in ShenZhen in 1994 raised in New Zealand, lives and works in Kyoto. Current student at the Masters course Global Seminar at Kyoto University of the Arts. Curatorial research focuses on intra relations of East Asia through discussing traditional and contemporary landscape art.

Guo Yugao

Born in Guangdong in 1995. Current student at the Masters course Global Seminar at Kyoto University of the Arts. With Guo’s law educational background, his curatorial research focuses on future themes in digital media art from the perspective of the violations of human rights by technology.