Installations by Suzumi Noda that integrate everyday words into the fabric of everyday items are on show till Feb. 12 at Tepco Art Gallery in Ginza.
The artist's theme is "diet" and her works draw on the language of advertising. Noda believes that repeated exposure to words, in this case the vocabulary of slimming, creates desires associated with them, thereby lending them commercial value. By transposing words onto functional items, the artist says, she is attempting to break the spell that they cast over consumers.
The works displayed at this exhibition feature countless numbers of printed words such as "diet," "kcal" and "low-calorie" woven into furnishings and clothing. Some items have even been knitted from thin strips of cloth printed with these words, giving them an unusual texture and style.
Born in Osaka in 1951, Noda studied interior design at Osaka Designer Gakuin and textile design at Kawashima Textile School. She has exhibited in Japan and internationally, including in Australia, Canada and Belgium. She teaches at Osaka Designer Gakuin and Okayama Prefectural University.
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