Saskia Olde Wolbers

Ota Fine Arts, both Tokyo and Singapore are pleased to present a new video work Pareidolia by Saskia Olde Wolbers, in her second solo exhibition at the gallery in Tokyo since 2008. This work was shown at the screening at Maureen Paley in London last year; this is the first screening in Asia.

Pareidolia's narrative is based on the events surrounding the creation of Eugen Herrigel's book Zen in the Art of Archery. The German author's interpretation of Zen archery pivots on an incident he observed while living in Japan in the 1930s; the shooting of two arrows - one bisecting the other - by his eccentric archery master, Awa Kenzo, in a darkened hall. "It, the Divine, has shot!" the master allegedly exclaimed, although the presence of a translator has since been disputed, raising questions of subjectivity, interpretation and belief.

Pareidolia is told from the point of view of a fictional translator between the master and his German apprentice, and the translator's alter ego, a bird. The title points to the need for caution in storytelling: Pareidolia refers to the tendency of human perception to discover meaning in random structures. The film's visuals are shot inside model sets of a university lecture theatre, an archery hall and various traditional Japanese interiors that fold into themselves, alternated with animatronic birds drinking from dripping plants. The soundtrack is composed by Daniel Pemberton.

Saskia Olde Wolbers was born in The Netherlands in 1971. Since 1996, the artist has been creating unique video works by delicately made miniature set and monologue narratives. Her works are meticulously detailed, utilizing beautiful models and carefully calculated lighting. Hence each works requires 1-2 years to complete.The highly defined images display a level of reality beyond artifact as well as mystic phenomenon inspiring the viewers.
She will participate in Visceral Sensation - Voices So Far, So Near at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (27 April - 1 September 2013).
Her recent solo exhibitions have included:
2011 Kinemacolor, Museum Leuven, Belgium, A Shot in the Dark at the Secession, Vienna
2010 the Goetz Collection, Munich, the Art Gallery of York University, Toronto
2008 MAM PROJECT 007,Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Group exhibitions have included:
2011 Monanism, Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania, The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and the Moving Image, Hirshhorn, Washington
2009 Automated Cities,San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego

She lives and works in London.