mac birmingham presents THE PLAYMAKERS (Sat 7 Jul – Sun 9 Sep) by Tokyo-based artists KOSUGE1-16

During June and July Tokyo-based artists, husband and wife, Chishino Kurumada and Takashi Tsuchiya, known professionally as KOSUGE1-16 will be in residence at mac birmingham accompanied by their two young children, where they will be holding their first UK solo exhibition.  In fact, this is the first time the duo has shown work outside Japan.

Using play as the basis for their artistic practice, KOSUGE1-16 create large-scale sculptures often in consultation with small communities of people who provide the artists with a unique enquiry and whose ideas later help to contribute to the installation of art works.

Kosuge 1-16 will use their time in Birmingham as a period of reflection and research to develop their presentation, meet new people, use new materials and experience life in a new location. This unique experience offers a meaningful and multi-layered cultural exchange. The residency will reach out into the community; giving presentations, workshops and collaborating with local residents. At other times, the artists will work quite secluded in mac birmingham‟s studio space, with ample time to focus and investigate their own practice.

THE PLAYMAKERS has been specifically commissioned to celebrate mac birmingham‟s 50 year anniversary and the colourful artworks that make up the installation focus on the figures of John English and Mollie Randle, another husband and wife partnership who initiated mac birmingham as a cultural institution in 1962. It will draw from the arts centre‟s history and its former existence as a theatre for experimental puppetry.

Architectural elements from Birmingham, like the pavilion and the bridge in the Cannon Hill Park, are brought in to the gallery, making it a microcosm of the city. In this context we see the collective aspect of the work in parallel to the art centre and the creative initiatives that brought it into existence.

The rules of an art gallery usually demand that we don‟t touch the art, don‟t run, don‟t shout, don‟t play, indeed we don‟t encourage fun. KOSUGE1-16 counteract this argument by devising a set of compulsory situations which encourage participation for the benefit of everyone, transforming the gallery space into a magical environment rather than retaining it as a conventional quiet space. THE PLAYMAKERS will feature life-size marionette figures, slides and bridges and hovering above, the air will be filled with flocks of flying birds and animals.

A press release can be downloaded here: Press Release: Kosuge 1-16 at mac birmingham

The Playmakers is supported by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation.