Taro Hattori, 1951 Patrilineality (2009), Archival pigment print, acrylic, wood, fluorescent light, 20 x 20 x 3 3/8 inches

Taro Hattori’s first solo exhibition at Swarm, entitled V, references global histories of war. Using simple materials such as paper, gel plastic and field recordings, Hattori draws connections between the past and present day political conflicts.

Hattori’s art practice is a way of measuring distances between him and things he finds unacceptable. Dealing with these “unacceptable” elements – generally weapons of destruction – he attempts to define himself by examining what he hates. He integrates these ideas into his art-making to render his world more coherent and balanced. This is his search for order, which is so often vulnerable to the power of chaos in our society.

V consists of corrugated cardboard sculptures that represent five parts of a life-sized V-2 rocket, the world’s first ballistic missile used by the Nazis. Other work in the show includes light-box prints that make a metaphorical connection between the V-2 rocket and Hattori’s personal history.

The V-2 was the most inefficient weapon ever made, causing more deaths during its production than in its deployment. An estimated 20,000 inmates at Mittelbau-Dora died constructing 5200 V-2s. Deployment resulted in the deaths of an estimated 7250 civilians and military personnel. By constructing this rocket from material we find in our everyday lives, Taro attempts to deactivate this symbol of destructive power.

In a two-part installation in Swarm’s project space and side gallery, Jordan Essoe approaches the banality of evil from a different perspective. Steeped in the visual language of suburbia, Living Room investigates everyday trials in the home. Wasted potential, futile endeavors and the cold indifference of the universe are the only reward for his labor.

In the side gallery, the video The Myth of Sisyphus shows the artist continuously vacuuming up and down a hillside. This room also includes two close-up photographs of the floor and ceiling of Essoe’s home studio/family room/dining room. In the project space, a series of drawings depict the artist laying on, straddling, and playing around a closed chest. A rectangular sculpture set in front of these pictures suggests the unseen contents of the chest, but also perhaps Sisyphus’s rock, or the contents of the world being sucked up and collected in the performance video.

Jordan Essoe, Chest 1 (2009), Pencil on paper, 12 x 12 inches

Exhibition in the Gallery: V
Solo exhibition of work by Taro Hattori

Exhibition in the Side gallery + project space: Living Room
Jordan Essoe

Exhibition Dates: October 30 through December 6, 2009
Opening Reception: Friday, October 30, 6-8PM
Artist Talk with Taro Hattori + Jordan Essoe: Wednesday, November 11, 6:30PM

Swarm Gallery
560 Second Street
Oakland CA 94607
T: 510.839.2787
Gallery Hours: Th – Su: 12 noon – 6pm + by appointment

Press release and images provided by the gallery.

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