© Takumi Ota Photography Co., Ltd.
Windows are taking centre stage at an exhibition starting in London next month.
Japan House London is hosting Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan. With sliding screens and transformative spaces, windows in Japan are part of a long architectural tradition that affect people’s everyday environments in culturally specific ways.
Curated by leading architectural historian and critic Igarashi Taro, alongside the Tokyo-based Window Research Institute, dedicated to researching, understanding and sharing the importance of windows; this exhibition examines the different perspectives on the world that windows offer us, considering their role across disciplines as diverse as architecture, film, craft manufacture, manga, and design.
Visitors can walk through a full-scale replica of a 17th century architectural plan of Yōsuitei teahouse in Kyoto to discover how windows are used to enhance the experience of the tea ceremony via the control of light and breeze. Guests also have the chance to become part of the exhibition themselves through an interactive, site-specific installation by artist Tsuda Michiko that uses framing, mirrors, and film to distort perspectives and challenge our preconceptions. Michiko has created a window-themed installation allowing visitors to Japan House inside, and visitors on Kensington High Street and Derry Street outside, to interact with each other, distorting the boundaries between the streetscape and the interior.
Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan, runs from 1 December 2021 until 10 April 2022. Admission is free.
