About

Shino Yanai is an artist who creates installations using performance, video and sound. Trained as a classical pianist, she studied Japanese painting, photography and contemporary art. She is interested in relationship between sound and memory. Her art practice explores performance and the use of sound to address the idea of nationality and the body. She was born in Japan to Korean parents, and she took Japanese nationality at the age of twenty. Taking a new nationality made her question the construction of identity and perceived notions of nationhood. The work aims to reanimate the past through memories, bringing the viewers into a new relationship with historical events. She is currently undertaking practice-led PhD research at Slade School of Fine Art, UCL.

Awards and Grants

2022 Grant from the Nomura Foundation: Doctoral Research in Slade School of Fine Art, UCL
2022 Malcolm Hughes Research Bursary and the Jean Spencer Memorial Bursary: Slade School of Fine Art, UCL
2021 Ogasawara Toshiaki Memorial Foundation: Exhibition and performance ‘Well Temperament’ as part of the project ‘Praying for Tokyo’ in Tokyo Biennale. 2020/2021
2020 Malcolm Hughes Research Bursary and the Jean Spencer Memorial Bursary: Slade School of Fine Art, UCL
2019 Grant from the Nomura Foundation: Doctoral Research in Slade School of Fine Art, UCL
2017–18 Fellowship of Overseas Study Programme for Artists, Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunka-cho), Government of Japan
2016 Grant from the Nomura Foundation: Walter Benjamin Portbou Project
2014–15 Fellowship of grant from the POLA Art Foundation (hosted by Tomoko Yoneda)
2018 Photography Prize (Degree Show 2018, Royal College of Art)
2017 International Public Art Short Film Contest nominated, “Art Public – Now you see me”
2012 Yuka Uematsu Prize (Curator, The National Museum of Art, Osaka), Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi 2012

Talks, Conferences and Workshops

2021 'Tokyo Biennale 2020 – Live Relations vol.01' Symposium, Roundtable Discussion Organised by Tokyo Biennale 2020/2021
2021 An online Talk event 'Art in Motion – creatives who have transitioned to video artistry' Organised by Japan Foundation
2019 Presentaion in “Okinawan Art in its Regional Context”, University of East Anglia (Norwich)
2019 “Nationalism and Death”: conversation with Dr. Yoshitaka Mouri (Sociologist, Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts), Kazuko Koike (President of Sagacho Exhibit Space); Sagacho Archives (Tokyo)
2018 “Art, Politics and Censorship in Japan and beyond”; Sainsbury institute for the study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (Norwich)
2018 Artist Talk, Camberwell College of Art and Design (London)
2016 Artist talk in “Crisis youth get creative: ‘Young Generations in Japan and Europe: Crisis, Mobility and Creativity’ workshop”; Sainsbury institute for the study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (Norwich)
2016 Artist Talk “Blue Passages”: conversation with Dr Jonathan Whitewall, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation (London)
2014 “Madness Plays as Metaphor”: conversation related to solo exhibition "“Utsushi-mi – Ghost Self”, with Seiichi Tsuchiya (Art Critic, Professor at Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts), Dr. Yoshitaka Mouri (Sociologist, Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts); monshirop – Facility of Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo)
2014 “Art and Nation”, guest lecture hosted by Professor Seiichi Tsuchiya; Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts (Okinawa)

Press

2016 El Punt Avui “The Blue Passages” by Pilar Parcerisas
2012 ART iT “End of war in the decade of the 2010s” by Adrian Favell

Education

2019- Practice-led PhD Slade School of Fine Art, University College London
2016–18 MA (Distinction) Photography, Royal College of Art
2010–12 MA Inter Media Art, Tokyo National University of the Arts
2004–10 MA / BA Japanese Painting, Tama Art University
1998–2002 BA Music, Instrumental music, Piano major, Kobe College

Exhibitions

2022 Solo exhibition “I hear your breath in 4/4” Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix (London)
2020/2021 Tokyo Biennale 2020/2021 "Praying for Tokyo" curated by Kazuko Koike, artists; Rei Naito, Aiko Miyanaga, Shino Yanai
2021 Online exhibition “11 Stories on Distanced Relationships: Contemporary Art from Japan" Japan Foundation
2021 “Flowers of Romance” White Conduit Projects (London)
2020 “Unwated Sound” curated by Haruka Iharada, Goethe-Institut Tokyo
2020 “de-sport: The Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Sports through Art” 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Kanazawa, Japan), artists; Allora&Calzadilla, The Eugenne Studio, Charles Freger, Liam Gillick, Christian Jankowski, Gabriel Orozco, Erwin Wurm, Xijing Men, Shino Yanai
2020 “Cherry Blossom Party” eitoeiko (Tokyo)
2020 “Exposing the Bushes” curated by Haruka Iharada, artists; Kaori Endo, Kaya Hanasaki, Shino Yanai, Tokyo Arts and Space (Tokyo)
2019 “erroribus humanis et antinomy”: screening of “Blue Passages” “The Deep End”, talk with Tetuzi Akiyama and Chihei Hatakeyama; OTOOTO (Tokyo)
2019 “Perspectives (2)” Intermediateque, The University Museum, the University of Tokyo (Tokyo)
2019 “Creation and Technique” Pola Museum Annex (Toyko)
2019 “3331 Art Fair 2019”: selected by Dr. Yoshitaka Mouri (Sociologist, Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts); 3331 Arts Chiyoda - Main Gallery (Toyko)
2019 Solo exhibition “The Deep End” Sagacho Archives (Tokyo)
2018 “TBCTV”: screening of "Happy and Glorious", Somerset House - Lancaster Room (London)
2018 “The Sky has No Surface” 10a Bridge Street Car park (Berwick-Upon-Tweed)
2018 “Phantom Limb” Corsica Studio (London)
2018 “A Point of No Return | Anthropocene Entity” White Conduit Projects (London)
2017 Mediarc International Festival of Architecture “Proiezioni sezione Festival Internazionale NowYouSeeMe! Parigi 2017' Le Murate Progetti Arte Contemporanea (Florence)
2017 Performance 'Happening and Surveillance; Cut Piece': collaboration with Mikito Tateisi; Photography Project Space, Royal College of Art (London)
2017 Offprint London, Art Publishing Fair Turbine Hall, Tate Modern (London)
2017 International Public Art Short Film Contest nominated, Journées internationales du film sur l'art, 10e édition; “Art Public – Now you see me” Louvre museum - Auditrium (Paris)
2016 Solo exhibition “Blue Passages” White Conduit Projects (London)
2016 Performance “The Blue Passages” Passages - Hommage to Walter Benjamin (Portbou, Spain)
2014 “Comedy and Menace: Birthday Party”: Andro Semeiko & Shino Yanai; White Conduit Projects (London)
2014 “Anti – War: Resistance against the Anticipated War” SNOW Contemporary (Tokyo)
2014 “ego – Re-examining the Self –” punto (Kyoto)
2014 “Utsushi-mi – Ghost Self”: performance and solo exhibition curated by Haruka Iharada, monsHirop; PARADISE STUDIO, Facility of Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo)
2013 “Brave New World – re-enchanting utopia” artists; Christian Boltanski, Sachiko Kodama, teamLab, Shino Yanai; Aomori Museum of Art (Aomori)
2013 “WHAT WE SEE” artists; Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Cyprien Gaillard, Johan Grimonprez, Hiraki Sawa, Chia-En Jao, Sojung Jun, Pei-Shih Tu, Steve McQueen, Clemens von Wedemeyer, Shino Yanai; The National Museum of Art (Osaka)
2012 “End of war in the decade of the 2010s” eitoeiko (Tokyo)
2012 “Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi 2012” Marunouchi-building (Tokyo)
2012 “GEIDAI SENTAN 2012” BankART Studio NYK (Yokohama)
2010 “TAMAVIVANⅡ 2010” Daikanyama Sedona (Tokyo)/ Parthenon Tama (Tokyo)/ Tama Art University (Tokyo)
2009 “NIHONGA : New Traditions” Dillon Gallery (New York)
2008 “International Art&Design Critiques” Tsinghua University (Beijing)