Where is my paradise? – Shige Fujishiro

Shige’s seductive objects relate to the symbolism of the Garden of Eden. Although we are aware that we had been expelled from it, we are constantly trying to trace the promise of paradise in various small pleasures offered by the material world.

Shige’s sculptures are mainly focused on independent materiality, even though they imitate nature and everyday objects. Millions of glass beads, a lot of wire and safety pins arouse admiration and anxiety at the same time. The works that contain dissected animals become a tale of an idyllic land of promise, our notions of Eden, but also at the same time a brutal collision with reality. Is that what surrounds us sufficient? Where is my paradise? is an exhibition asking questions at various levels, for instance: what kind of reality are we experiencing here? Is this a paradise? A crime scene? A museum or a zoo?

Shige creates his objects with shiny glass beads, which are known for being one of the oldest jewellery items and precious ancient commodities. Lush floral and animal motives as well as regular shopping bags consisting of a million shining beads seduce us with their artistry and craftmanship. Due to his laborious work, the artist creates a new artificial reality in an already set and ready world. By using biblical themes relating to the Garden of Eden, the land symbolising happiness and eternal attempts to find happiness, Fujishiro builds another myth and adds successive layers of narrative.

What does paradise mean in the face of individualised human postmodern worlds? What is the role of artist who creates new artificial worlds and forms? In Japanese, the paradise literally means the highest happiness. This is the first step to the pure land, where the loop of rebirth gets broken. Neither natural nor creationism art would have any meaning there. The ethos of paradise as an idea is nice, but to get there, a man must fulfill one condition. To quote a song by Nina Hagen: Everyone wants to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

SHIGE FUJISHIRO
Graduated from Hiroshima University, Department of Fine Arts and Art Theory, Japan, 2002. Doctoral studies at Hiroshima University, Department of Fine Arts and Art Theory, 2002–2005. Participated in the student exchange programme at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hannover, Germany, 2000–2001. He lives and works in Germany.

He has received several awards, such as the Jutta Cuny-Franz Talent Award, Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2011; the 1st Public Prize, Große Kunstausstellung Halle (Saale), Kunsthalle Villa Kobe, Haale, Germany, 2011; the Best Box 2011, Kunstbox art fair, Dortmund, Germany; altonale Kunstpreis, Hamburg, Germany, 2013; the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung Award, the Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass 2014, Coburg, Germany.

He has participated in individual and group exhibitions, including: Die Kunst der Natur ist die Natur der Kunst, Künstlerverein Walkmühle, Wiesbaden, Germany, 2010; tierisch, Haus der Kunst München, Munich, Germany, 2011; Große Kunstausstellung Halle (Saale), Kunsthalle Villa Kobe, Halle, 2011; Less is more, RWE Tower gallery, Dortmund, 2012; Food, clothing and shelter – Hiroshima meets Seoul, Seokyeong University, Seoul, Korea, 2012; GLASPLASTIK UND GARTEN, Münster, Germany, 2013; the Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass 2014, Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg, Coburg.

His works are in the collection of the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung in Munich, in the Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg, European Museum of Modern Glass, Rödental, Germany, and in the Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf .

Shige Fujishiro, a Japanese artist living in Germany, investigates in his art the cultural


Opening of the exhibition – photos