Chim↑Pomは、コレラで亡くなった人々が埋葬されたマンチェスターの地下（現在のヴィクトリア駅地下）の廃墟に「ビール工場」を設置し、オリジナルビール「A Drop of Pandemic」を醸造。ビールの直営店としてトレーラー型公衆便所を「Pub Pandemic」（トイレとしてもバーとしても機能する場）として開き、Chim↑Pom自らがバーテンダーを務めました。
展示風景Chim↑Pom《A Drunk Pandemic》2020年 木箱、ビール、ブリック、サインボード、ビデオ @8,000$Chim↑Pom《Asshole of Tokyo》2018年 ビデオ
まとめ
「May, 2020, Tokyo」は自粛期間中の活動で、Chim↑Pomとしては控えめなプロジェクトだったように感じました。一方の「 A Drunk Pandemic」は、かなり壮大なプロジェクトです。今の時節に合致した企画で、興味深く鑑賞することが出来ました。彼らの持つ視点の鋭さではないでしょうか。
2021年には森美術館（東京）での個展も予定されています（2021.4.22～ 8.22）。
Chim↑Pom “May, 2020, Tokyo / A Drunk Pandemic”
We visited Chim↑Pom’s solo exhibition “May, 2020, Tokyo / A Drunk Pandemic.” The venue is ANOMALY.
Chim↑Pom “May, 2020, Tokyo / A Drunk Pandemic” ANOMALY
Chim↑Pom is an artist collective made up of six members: Ryuta Ushiro, Yasutaka Hayashi, Ellie, Masataka Okada, Motomu Inaoka, and Toshinori Mizuno.
Much of Chim↑Pom’s activity engages with social issues, and the two projects presented in this exhibition — May, 2020, Tokyo and A Drunk Pandemic — were fitting to the moment of the show’s opening.
May, 2020, Tokyo
“May, 2020, Tokyo” is a project set in Tokyo in May of that year, when what was to have been the celebratory event of the century, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, had been postponed in the wake of the global spread of COVID-19, and a state of emergency had subsequently been declared.
Chim↑Pom, who have consistently carried out projects in the streets, turned their eyes anew to the city in that moment — the capital under a “Stay Home” self-restraint request — and produced this installation of works.
A work bearing a large “TOKYO 2020” — a trademark related to the Tokyo Olympics — May, 2020, Tokyo (Shinjuku White House) — Drawing a Blueprint —Installation viewInstallation viewA work installed on the side of a building next to Okubo Station for just two days — Chim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (In Front of Okubo Station) — Drawing a Blueprint —Chim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (In Front of Okubo Station) — Drawing a Blueprint —, lambda print, ed. of 5Installation viewInstallation viewChim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (Kitakore Building) — Drawing a Blueprint —Chim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (Torimitsu) — Drawing a Blueprint —Chim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (Heirasshai) — Drawing a Blueprint —Installation viewRear left: Chim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (Mizuno Gakuen) — Drawing a Blueprint — Center: Chim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (Tokyu) — Drawing a Blueprint —Left: Chim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (Human Restaurant) — Drawing a Blueprint —, lambda print, ed. of 5 Right: Chim↑Pom, May, 2020, Tokyo (Shinjuku White House) — Drawing a Blueprint —, lambda print, ed. of 5
A Drunk Pandemic
“A Drunk Pandemic” is a project developed in 2019 inside a massive derelict tunnel beneath Victoria Station in Manchester, England.
Chim↑Pom, A Drunk Pandemic, watercolor, acrylic, pencil, 2019
Chim↑Pom set up a “beer brewery” in the derelict spaces beneath Manchester (present-day underneath Victoria Station), where victims of cholera had been buried, and brewed an original beer called “A Drop of Pandemic.” As the beer’s flagship outlet, they opened a trailer-style public toilet — “Pub Pandemic” — a place that functions as both toilet and bar, with the members of Chim↑Pom themselves acting as bartenders.
Installation view — Chim↑Pom, A Drunk Pandemic, video
From that “Pub Pandemic” toilet, they extended a sewer line and, inside the venue, set up a cement-brick factory called “Piss Building.” Using the sewage mixed with visitors’ urine (after disinfection), bricks were produced in quantity.
Installation view — Chim↑Pom, Piss Building, 2019
Manchester is known as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, and the deteriorating sanitary conditions brought on by rapid urbanization were a major cause of the spread of cholera; the water and sewage sanitation reforms of modern cities — that is, the development of urban infrastructure — are said to have been carried out as countermeasures against cholera.
Installation view
Because cholera patients were concentrated among the elderly and the frail, laborers, drinkers, and other members of the impoverished classes, wealthy elites came to view them as morally inferior — the notion that “cholera equals immorality” took hold; and in order to eradicate this “immoral disease,” it was believed the living environments of “immoral people” had to be morally improved. Some say that the sanitation revolution and the installation of public toilets were carried out on that premise.
Installation viewChim↑Pom, A Drunk Pandemic, 2020. Wooden box, beer, brick, signboard, video. @8,000$Chim↑Pom, Asshole of Tokyo, 2018, video
In Summary
“May, 2020, Tokyo” was an activity carried out during the self-restraint period and felt, for Chim↑Pom, like a somewhat restrained project. “A Drunk Pandemic,” on the other hand, is a project on a truly grand scale. It was a project fitting to this moment, and we found it fascinating to view. Perhaps this is a testament to the sharpness of their perspective.
A solo exhibition at Mori Art Museum (Tokyo) is also scheduled for 2021 (April 22 – August 22).
Chim↑Pom “May, 2020, Tokyo / A Drunk Pandemic”
我们前往参观了Chim↑Pom的个展”May, 2020, Tokyo / A Drunk Pandemic”。展场为ANOMALY。
Chim↑Pom “May, 2020, Tokyo / A Drunk Pandemic” ANOMALY
Chim↑Pom在曼彻斯特那些葬有霍乱亡者的地下（现今Victoria Station地下）的废墟里，设置了一座”啤酒工厂”，酿造原创啤酒”A Drop of Pandemic”。作为啤酒直营店，他们开设了一座拖车式公共便所”Pub Pandemic”（一处兼具厕所与酒吧功能的空间），Chim↑Pom成员亲自担任调酒师。
Chim↑Pom의 활동은 사회 문제에 접근하는 것이 많으며, 본 전시에서 발표된 두 프로젝트, 《May, 2020, Tokyo》와 《A Drunk Pandemic》은 개최 당시의 시대적 맥락에 어울리는 활동 내용이었습니다.
May, 2020, Tokyo
“May, 2020, Tokyo”는 세기의 축제 이벤트가 되었어야 할 도쿄 2020 올림픽이 신형 코로나바이러스의 세계적 확산으로 인해 연기되고, 그 후 발령된 긴급사태 선언 하의 5월, 도쿄를 무대로 한 프로젝트입니다.
항상 거리에서 프로젝트를 감행해 온 Chim↑Pom이지만, “Stay Home”이라는 자숙 요청이 강조된 수도 도쿄에서, 다시금 그 순간의 도시에 시선을 돌려 제작한 작품들로 이루어진 인스톨레이션입니다.
도쿄 올림픽 관련 등록상표인 “TOKYO 2020″이 크게 그려진 작품～《May, 2020, Tokyo(신주쿠 White House)-청사진을 그리다-》전시 풍경전시 풍경오쿠보 역 인접 빌딩에 이틀 동안만 게시된 작품～Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(오쿠보 역 앞)-청사진을 그리다-》Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(오쿠보 역 앞)-청사진을 그리다-》람다 프린트 ED.of 5전시 풍경전시 풍경Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(Kitakore Building)-청사진을 그리다-》Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(Torimitsu)-청사진을 그리다-》Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(Heirasshai)-청사진을 그리다-》전시 풍경왼쪽 안: Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(Mizuno Gakuen)-청사진을 그리다-》 중앙: Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(Tokyu)-청사진을 그리다-》왼쪽: Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(Human Restaurant)-청사진을 그리다-》 람다 프린트 ED.of 5 오른쪽: Chim↑Pom《May, 2020, Tokyo(신주쿠 White House)-청사진을 그리다-》람다 프린트 ED.of 5
A Drunk Pandemic
“A Drunk Pandemic”은 2019년 영국 맨체스터의 Victoria Station 지하에 있는 거대한 폐허 터널에서 전개된 프로젝트입니다.
Chim↑Pom《A Drunk Pandemic》수채, 아크릴, 연필 2019년
Chim↑Pom은 콜레라로 사망한 사람들이 매장된 맨체스터의 지하(현재의 Victoria Station 지하)의 폐허에 “맥주 공장”을 설치하고, 오리지널 맥주 “A Drop of Pandemic”을 양조했습니다. 맥주의 직영점으로서 트레일러 형태의 공중화장실을 “Pub Pandemic”(화장실이기도 하고 바이기도 한 장소)으로 열고, Chim↑Pom 자신들이 바텐더를 맡았습니다.
전시 풍경으로부터～Chim↑Pom《A Drunk Pandemic》영상
그 “Pub Pandemic”의 화장실로부터 하수도를 연장해, 회장 내에 시멘트 벽돌 공장 “Piss Building”을 설치. 방문객의 소변이 섞인 오수(를 소독한 것)로 벽돌을 대량 생산했습니다.
전시 풍경으로부터～Chim↑Pom《Piss Building》2019년
맨체스터는 산업혁명 발상의 땅으로 알려져 있지만, 당시의 급격한 도시화로 인한 열악한 위생 환경은 콜레라 만연을 초래한 커다란 요인이었으며, 근대 도시의 상하수도 위생 개혁 등 인프라 정비는 콜레라 대책으로서 이루어졌다고 합니다.
전시 풍경
콜레라 환자는 노인이나 허약자, 노동자, 술꾼 등 빈곤층에 편중되어 있었기 때문에, 부유층은 그들을 도덕적으로 열등하다고, 즉 “콜레라＝부도덕”이라는 사고방식이 있었고, 그 “부도덕한 병”을 박멸하기 위해서는 “부도덕한 인간”의 생활 환경을 도덕적으로 향상시켜야 한다…, 위생 혁명이나 공중화장실의 설치는 그러한 발상으로 이루어졌다고도 합니다.
전시 풍경Chim↑Pom《A Drunk Pandemic》2020년 목상, 맥주, 벽돌, 사인보드, 비디오 @8,000$Chim↑Pom《Asshole of Tokyo》2018년 비디오
총평
“May, 2020, Tokyo”는 자숙 기간 중의 활동으로, Chim↑Pom으로서는 절제된 프로젝트였다고 느껴졌습니다. 한편 “A Drunk Pandemic”은 상당히 웅장한 프로젝트입니다. 지금의 시대와 맞물린 기획으로, 흥미롭게 감상할 수 있었습니다. 그들이 지닌 시각의 예리함이 아닐까요.
2021년에는 Mori Art Museum(도쿄)에서의 개인전도 예정되어 있습니다(2021.4.22 ~ 8.22).
