Taguchi’s practice involves the discovery of metaphysical presences in time and space through monochromatic works with multi-layered structures. For example, in works created by superimposing multiple-exposure photographs of her own paintings and sculptures, drawing in oils on the printed photographs, and then re-photographing them, she explores the same territory and operates on the same level as a painter spending long hours in front of a canvas, despite the fact that the medium is photography.
Taguchi’s work also often includes references to past works of art and application of pre-existing images, such as anonymous found photos and magazine clippings. The act of seeking to interpret the symbolism of collected images from the past is informed by the Mnemosyne Atlas of Aby Warburg. The artist gathers up signifiers of the constellated spaces of memory from multiple time frames and body fragments in these found images, sometimes restoring them, sometimes reintroducing them into her own works, with the goal of moderating and incorporating chance into the image-space.
“A Quiet Sun” is composed of a body of artworks created for this exhibition and found photographs collected by Taguchi. Myths and anonymous memories are brought to life through the actions and tactile sensations of various corporeal presences preserved in gelatin silver. A daring yet delicate approach to the exhibition layout, which employs strong natural light flooding the gallery, in order to reveal its architecture, realign the space, and imbue it with multiple layers, is in part an endeavor by Taguchi to interpret issues in photographic production from different angles. What kind of light will emerge from the stillness, when this corpus of photographs forms a kaleidoscope of images in the flood of a quiet sun?
at Ginza Maison Hermès Le Forum, Tokyo
until September 30, 2022