Japanese artist Shimabuku is remarkably curious. And through his highly imaginative artistic practice, he makes the familiar and mundane seem fascinating, humorous and strange. For Shimabuku, it is most important that his audience receives something positive from his work and experiences it freely.

“My art is not about understanding. I’m not asking people to understand this or that,” says Shimabuku. “If people laugh or smile with it, I think that is enough.”

Kites flying in the sky appear like fish swimming in the sea.| Photo courtesy of the Contemporary Art Gallery

The current exhibition at the Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG), When Sky was Sea, presents the first major North American survey of the artist’s work, including installation, sculpture, video and photography from the early 90’s to 2000’s.

“Presenting a range of his work in a variety of media over several years allows the gallery to provide the fullest picture possible of Shimabuku as an artist,” says Nigel Prince, CAG’s executive director.

Playing with the world

Shimabuku’s work inverts the way everyday things are seen, according to Prince, and encourages the viewer to shed his or her skepticism and be more open-minded. In his video, Flying Me, the artist flies a kite with the image of his body on it, explaining that he was curious to see himself floating high in the sky.

Shimabuku catches an octopus with a ceramic pot. | Photo courtesy of the Contemporary Art Gallery

With the installation Born as a Box, he presents himself in a much different form, this time immobile and grounded. A cardboard box sitting on the gallery floor seems out-of-place, but a looping audio recording by Shimabuku, which plays ‘Hello, I am a box’, cues the audience to its intentional placement and to look closer at the box’s labels.

“There are times when we make presumptions about something and anticipate that it’s just so,” says Prince. “There’s an attitude in these works that suspends that.”

While Shimabuku’s work demonstrates a playful and humorous interaction with the world, the artist also creates opportunities for his audience to actively participate in his work – and the world – in similar ways.

In When the Earth Turned to Sea, Shimabuku invited numerous participants to fly colorful fish kites among the hills and mountains of Schwaz, Austria.

“People had a chance to play with kites. Maybe they wouldn’t have otherwise. They were given permission to play in the name of an art project,” says Shimabuku.

With this event, Shimabuku creates a magical, new perspective by transforming a clear blue sky into a sea of swimming fish.

Art as a gift

Prince points out that Shimabuku takes delight in the natural world, and is fascinated by plants and animals alike. The octopus, in particular, is a central character in several of his performances.

In Then, I decided to give a tour of Tokyo to the octopus from Akashi, an octopus (safely transported in a fish tank) is Shimabuku’s travel companion. The video depicts the unlikely duo visiting popular tourist sites before the octopus is returned to the Akashi Sea.

The idea of giving art as a gift is what inspired this piece and, for Shimabuku, giving a gift is not limited to an exchange between people. He introduces this intelligent sea creature to unfamiliar surroundings, so it might gain a new vantage point.

“I was giving Tokyo to the octopus,” he says. “I was giving him a gift.”

At the same time, Shimabuku gives something quite valuable to his audience. He inspires the viewer to consider the octopus’ point of view, and reminds him or her that the world can be seen and experienced with a great sense of wonder and mystery.

When Sky was Sea, until Jan. 11 at the Contemporary Art Gallery.