SOUTHFIRST 60 N6th Street Brooklyn,
NY 11211 www.southfirst.org ph
718 599 4884
Ellen Takata
March 17 –
April 8, 2012
SOUTHFIRST is proud to present ÒSubtitles,Ó an installation
including eight new paintings by the artist Ellen Takata.
The small-sized oil paintings are couched within a backdrop of vintage Hawaiian
cloth swatches to create a room-sized installation. The exhibition will be on
view from March 17 – April 8, 2012. There will be a closing reception for
the artist from 2-6 pm on Sunday, April 8.
The Aloha shirt originated in the 1930s as an item for
tourists to Hawaii; cut out of old kimono fabric, the shirts were quickly adopted
as a local way of dress. ÒAloha AttireÓ is currently appropriate for weddings,
funerals and other formal events. In ÒSubtitles,Ó the incorporation of vintage
Aloha shirt fabrics evokes the artistÕs family heritage: graphically
patterned Hawaiian prints predominate, remnants of fabric swatches saved by TakataÕs family during the 1950-70s, collected from Aloha
shirt making factories. TakataÕs installation combines
paintings that evoke the visual effect of subtitled Japanese and Hong Kong films
of the 1980s to the present, with the Japanese-American textile heritage of Hawaii.
In one piece, a shibori-dyed summer kimono garment
and a striped Aloha shirt material evoke an American flag; in another, her
fatherÕs Aloha shirt from the 1960s hangs beside a red Chinese-style dress. The
paintings of moments taken from films include yellow subtitles, signs which mediate between Japanese visual culture and Western
linguistic identity.
Born in Boston, Mass., Ellen Takata
graduated from Harvard in Visual and Environmental Studies, and GoldsmithÕs
College in London. She moved to New York in 2000. She currently lives and works
in the Boston area. This is her first solo show at Southfirst.
SOUTHFIRST, founded in 2000, is located on 60 N6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn between Wythe and Kent Avenues. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 1-6 PM and by appointment. Subway: L train to Bedford Avenue. For more information, please contact Maika Pollack at 718 599 4884 or info@southfirst.org.