“Circus,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Bloomberg Pavilion 2012, photo: Kenshu Shintsubo, 2012

Circus / Circuits / Circles

2012

Circus (May, 2012)

About Circles, Circuits, Circus.

This work was exhibited in the form of three exhibitions: Circles / Circuits / Circus. Each of these terms has the same etymology.
During a sojourn in Barcelona to produce this work, and inspired by her experiences at the local circus, I felt an affinity between the circus and the works that I made there, and so I decided on this title. This installation, which transforms its components into circles and circuits, also takes on the appearance of a circus.
As a matter of fact, objects have always been a source of wisdom for me.
Over the course of producing this installation, I took apart various everyday objects, hacked these exposed mechanisms, and amplified them, trying to reassemble them so that they would function within a different circuit — a personal circuit, so to speak. The objects deployed in the three exhibitions Circles / Circuits / Circus were the result of an accumulation of attempts that tried, quite simply, to coax movement out of everyday items with a past existence.
When I took these reconfigured objects to each of the exhibition spaces, however, they took on another life of their own. Although I kept trying to tame them in each of the spaces — a dark room, a semi-outdoor space, and a bright room filled with natural light — the objects soon transformed the role of these spaces dramatically while becoming almost native to them, producing a circulating ecosystem that could only have emerged in each space.
These elements — magnetic forces, gravity, and time — came together in a bright room and became my “circus.”

Yuko Mohri, 2012

“Circus,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Bloomberg Pavilion 2012, photo: Kenshu Shintsubo, 2012

photo: Kenshu Shintsubo, 2012

photo: Kenshu Shintsubo, 2012

This work was exhibited in the form of three exhibitions: Circles / Circuits / Circus. Each of these terms has the same etymology. This work came about during a residency in Barcelona, inspired by Mohri’s experiences at the local circus. This installation takes a number of circles and circuits and transforms them in different ways, producing a circus that dances to a different tune.

photo: Kenshu Shintsubo, 2012

photo: Kenshu Shintsubo, 2012

photo: Kenshu Shintsubo, 2012

video: Yuko Mohri

Circus
2012
Materials: Umbrella, Dusters, Compass, Old toy, Lampshade, Roll paper, Electric fan, Blind, Bells, Driftwood, Prism etc.
Size: Dimension variable

Circuits (April, 2012)

The exhibition space for the Circuits was facing to outside and the circulation of the moving wing object made the trace of the fugitive dust.
The photo shows the compass that serves as the key switch that regulates all three parts of the work. The vibrations of the compass serve to turn the objects arranged in each venue “on” or “off.”

“Circuits,” adanda, photo: Seiichi Yamamoto

photo: Seiichi Yamamoto

photo: Seiichi Yamamoto

photo: Seiichi Yamamoto

Circuits
2012
Materials: Umbrella, Dusters, Compass, Old toy, Lampshade, Roll paper, Bells, Lamp bulbs etc.
Size: Dimension variable

Circles (February, 2012)

The light bulbs go on or off depending on how the sensors read the polka dot patterns on the rotating umbrella. The main materials that Mohri used here, including tin toys from the 18th century, umbrellas, and wooden rulers, are all antiques that she collected during her Barcelona residency — probably with the intention to preserve something of her travel memories.

“Circles,” waitingroom, photo: Hideto Maezawa, 2012

photo: Hideto Maezawa

photo: Hideto Maezawa

photo: Hideto Maezawa

photo: Hideto Maezawa

Circles
2012
Materials: Umbrella, Dusters, Compass, Old toy, Lampshade, Lamp bulbs etc.
Size: Dimension variable

Circus / Circuits / Circles