Yuki Kimura

Kastura

Kastura (2012) is an installation consisting of 24 black-and-white photographs of the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto bequeathed by Kimura’s grandfather; free-standing structures on which they are hung; and ornamental plants. The photographs appear to have been taken in late 1950s soon after tours of the villa were first offered to the public. Then, as today, visitors were led by a guide and could only follow a designated route. Cross-referencing the numbers inscribed on the back of the 24 photos and the locations where they were shot, Kimura found that sequence of photos elegantly encapsulates the entire tour route. This prompted her to create an installation employing the complete set of photos. Since German architect Bruno Taut lauded the Katsura Imperial Villa in the early 20th century as the apotheosis of the Japanese aesthetic, its building have frequently appeared in discussions of modernist architecture. Noting that the centuries-old villa and works of modernist architecture share the structural concept of the module, Kimura devised a group of spare steel modular units, on which the photographs are hung to create seamlessly integrated objects. In this work, Kimura replicates a time and place captured on film around half a century earlier.