What is Utopia?
Prof. Colin Fournier
Professor of Architecture and Urbanism
The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL)
Kumiko Shimizu’s wonderful urban projects for the cities of Hong Kong and Shanghai and for the desert landscape of Death Valley in California are a surreal breath of fresh air in a field that is usually dominated by dull, pragmatic and unimaginative functionalist urbanistic proposals.
Kumiko, even at a time when she was expected to fulfil the exacting requirements of a Master of Science course in Urban Design, which was the academic context within which she designed these extraordinary projects, always remained at heart an independent artist and a poet. Her proposals are at once extravagant, delirious, playful, witty, provocative, cheerful, radical, irreverent and irresistible. The Shanghai project was so palatable that it was even presented as an edible model. Read more…
Kumiko Shimizu
Artist/Urban Designer
The Exhibition at the Scarlet Maguire Gallery is about the future city, about urban design projects at three sites: on reclaimed land in Hong Kong, in Death Valley and in Shanghai.
With my experience as an artist, Urban Design became almost the ultimate goal for my artistic development.
Before undertaking the Master of Science course in Urban Design at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, my work as an artist took place in Nature, creating very large works responding to their surrounding and later in the urban environment where I used derelict buildings and found objects with which I made installations as symbols of the times, Thatcherism. Read more…
Since Man created fire,
Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit
Man, no longer belongs to Nature.Man developed science and technology
to make his life comfortable.He has been exploiting natural resources
and creating pollution, consequently
endangering himself and other speciesThe only way for the survival
of both Man and other creatures on earth
is to segregate Man from wild animals.Man’s discovery and development
of science and technology
owe a lot to Nature and animals
copying their powerful being.Therefore, Man should live vertical
in his own creation
and leave Nature and animals
alone as they are.
Hyperdensity
Technology, science and politics have been deciding where we should go and live, as well as putting nature and wildlife in danger. Our technology can now afford to return the ground space to Nature and the wild animals.
Death Valley California Project
(2003/4)
Self generated and regenerated city
Everywhere can be heaven and hell
Nature
Sky Gardens
The development of the ski stick:
Original design (left), Modern design (right)
Shanghai Project
Sweet City (Low Rise) - Non Grid City
Concept:
- Cars are not allowed in the city.
- No grid is made for the master plan, except the main road and the canals.
- Passways will be made bypasses freely.
- Working animals are introduced and is strongly recommended in the city.
- Every day is a working holiday in this city.
Art in Nature
SEARCHING LIFE
Life which I have nearly lost or I have never seen and felt
I don't know what Life is for
I don't know what Life should be
Everything seems so meaningless
I cannot see the future
It is too uncertainI'm only able to believe in the moment that I can see and feel
That is one of the reasons why I make this work, my land art
Making a plan and complete it
Making a plan = the Future, Optimism, Excitement and Frightening
Complete = SatisfactionThis is a little project for myself
My little secret challenge for myself that I am able to see and feelLife has to repeat the same thing again and again, psychologically
Only excitement, depression and joy come over again and again
We’re never able to see the whole life
How tiring to make a plan for the whole life and how can we see complete it
It is too abstractLife is Sisyphus Mythology
The same thing again and again
My Land Art (1980)
Near Henley-on-Thames
This is the most important work for me. This was a secret challenge to find out my physical and mental possibilities through the work.
Work with Tide (1981)
Anglesey, Wales
Suddenly a very long beach appeared in front of me and I wanted to find out how the tide went away. Putting stands every 10 minutes and painting colours of white, red and yellow.
Beginning is very slow and gradually getting quicker than making the gap wider and wider. Eventually, very slow again, narrower and narrower like the beginning. Then suddenly very quick and wide. That was the end of the tide away and the tide started coming back.
This is the rhythm of the universe we humans perceive and create, like we find in composition of music, dance, visual art or any other form would have to involved this rhythm.
Kunst im Wald, “Art in Forest” (1982)
Osnabrück, Germany
250 trees are celebrated with all different patterns.
Viking Wall (1983)
Move to Urban Environment
Roadworks at Brixton (1985)
Performance and Installation
Walking around Brixton area, collecting found objects in conversation with people in the street. I made one installation on the wall there was graffiti. And another in the squatters’ street having made sculptures.
Welcome to my progress was shown at the gallery every day. My experiences on the streets were shown later by tape/slides.
Kray Brothers’ house (1985)
Sponsored by Artangel
This year was the height of the Margaret Thatcher era. There were so many skips filled with old and new objects and derelict buildings were the domineering scene of London in the 80s. Found objects and derelict buildings are very unique and charming. Their value is defined by the way we use them.
This house is used to belong to the most notorious gangsters in the UK, the Kray brothers. Passersby have let me know who they were, especially old ladies.
Thirteen years later, the very difficult lady in the local local committee eventually agreed to new project as she remembered my work.
Harecourt Church (1986/7)
Islington
This time I found so many kitchen utensils by chance. I decided to make gargoyles to protect the spirit of the church. The white parts were where I scratched the stones and I painted them as well.
Canterbury (1986)
2nd generation of the British sculptors
Installation on the renovation house. The scaffolding became part of the installation.
Manchester City Art Gallery (1989)
The tower is designed from the proportion of the museum which is in the background. The height is the same as the third section from the top and the width is the same size as each of the stones of the wall. The subject is taken from one of the three wall sculptures on the museum, a Goddess, proudly protecting the museum.
My installation emphasised colour as neoclassical buildings are just plain and have no colour. Some of the pipes were cut off the wrong size by mistake by the scaffolding company but that gave my work more dimension.
Hayward Gallery (1990)
Once condemned by Prince Charles as the ugliest building in London. I covered the building with found objects to enhance it with colour and form. While I was making the work at Hayward, an Andy Warhol exhibition was on, so I produced and added some of his images and work to my installation to pay homage to him.
Alternative Japanese Garden (1991)
Gateshead Garden Festival
I created an alternative Japanese Garden with available objects in the surrounding area of Gateshead and also at the Gateshead International Garden Festival. Colour and proportion of the subject of my work. The large stone was broken into two pieces by accident while being transported but this incident made to work more interesting.
Schinkelkirche (1992)
East Berlin
I created an alternative Japanese Garden with available objects in the surrounding area of Gateshead and also at the Gateshead International Garden Festival. Colour and proportion of the subject of my work. The large stone was broken into two pieces by accident while being transported but this incident made to work more interesting.
Sculpture
The Post Feminist
H.R.H. Princess Diana (1995)
The famous BBC Panorama interview inspired me to celebrate her as an icon of the 20th century.
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1998)
Sculpture/Performance, Mile End Park
My own interpretation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream. Bottom is lost and confused. On the other hand a lady with money carries on her life as nothing happened in the moment of madness, Midsummer Night.
Searching for Democracy and Justice + Hope (2019)
I found what's happening at the government level is not far away from personal level.
I found my problem in my profession as an artist and the neighbourhood and the local authority problems are not far away from how the government, the top level handle the matters which determine the system and what kind of people they would choose to run their government that make people comply to their rules and regulations. So powerful, you do like or dislike you are to obey. Often as it has been a long time under the similar government policy and value, often end up as a form of abuse and exploitation. Many people discontent how they have been treated and noticed a great unfairness in the society, lack of democracy.
Jeremy Corbyn's advocacy DEMOCRACY opened up my eyes and inspired me, like many others. He gave me energy to fight for democracy. As I am an artist, like "Mighty Pen", I used "Mighty Art".
A Special Thank You
I would thank my generous pratron, Amanda Sebestyen, for helping me fund the creation of my new website:
Amanda has written about art and politics in the New Statesman, Red Pepper, City Limits, Women Artists Slide Library Journal and other publications. Read more about her work…