Images about Wheat

Size: H45.5 × W53 × D2 cm (F10)

Medium: oil on canvas

Year: 2025
Edition: one of a kind (unique piece)

Certificate: ⚪ ︎

Signature: ︎⚪ ︎

A mural image of a wheat harvesting scene drawn on the tomb of a person who worked as a craftsman in ancient Egypt is placed on the workspace and on the wall in a state where it is folded 90 degrees. As if overlapping with the mural, the wheat illustration page published in a manual called “Medicinal Plants” by Kohler published in 1897 is partially blended in with the left and right reversed. A 3D scanned image of a “pretzel croissant” sold at Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 min. is printed out on the workbench, and it is held with staples so that it is three-dimensional while being supported by a cardboard pedestal.

Kumakura Ryoko's production begins by setting a theme. Next, pieces with the theme are collected from web searches and book information, a place like a workspace is set up digitally on an iPad, etc., and the pieces and compositions are examined. After that, as the artist herself says, “making a motif,” the working table is reproduced in a real space, the wire is bent, the image is printed out, cut, glued, and arranged. Once the content and structure are fixed, the motif is copied while looking at what was taken and output in painting format.

Most of the elements that appear in the work are images found on the web or in books, and after all, replicated information that circulates in a state where the real thing is somewhere. This information continues to tell the story and background related to the original, but it does not mention that it is a copy itself. However, in Kumakura's works, attention should be paid to the fact that mechanisms that emphasize the uniqueness of reproduction and raise questions are applied during the motif making process.

In terms of the relationship between the real and the reproduced, the exhibition venue, Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 min., has a bakery and café space attached to it, so people will see the works along with the smell and taste of bread. The experience of thinking about the relationship between bread and people and their history while chewing on the real thing may be a unique device of this location.

Period
May 31 (Sat) - July 1 (Tue), 2025

Venue

Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 min

Address

104-0031

TODA BUILDING 1F, 1-7-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Google maps

Opening Hours
08:00〜19:00

Closed

Open every day during the exhibition period

Admission
Free

Access

3 min walk from exit 6 of Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.

5 min walk from exit B1 of Nihonbashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.

8 min walk from the Yaesu Central Exit of Tokyo Station on all JR Line.

Tokyo 8 min official Instagram