This exhibition of Yuko Shiraishi's included an extraordinary installation 'Project Anableps' inspired by Anableps four-eyed fish that can see above and below the waterline. Shiraishi transformed one of the gallery rooms into a simulated sea environment in which colour delineates the 'above' and the 'below'. Reflecting glass boxes at eye level, a painted floor and a lowered cloth ceiling enhanced the sense of underwater experience.
Alongside the installation, in the main gallery space was a group of new paintings. Typical of Shiraishi's works, there was minimal and precise usage of colour to highlight lines, divisions, continuations and boarders - aspects of Shiraishi's work that are always present in paintings and her many architectural installations. Shiraishi's colouration is always striking, and her awareness of its visual and emotional effect is profound.
The third section of the exhibition detailed an experimental swimming pool project that Shiraishi undertook in Insel Hombroich, Germany. The project was a concept for three outdoor swimming pools in an environment that combines manmade features with trees and natural elements. The project room showed a maquette and documentation of the concept which was designed to include the use of waterproof MP3 players and the conversion of the largest pool to a sculpture theatre and ice rink in the winter months.
The Swimming Pools, like the Anableps Project and her paintings, exploit Shiraishi's interest in the different worlds/states, the boundaries between them and the effect that this has on the human psyche.
