The Container

Tobias Klein The Container

"Augmented Mask" is an exhibition catalogue for the german artist's, Tobias Klein, installation at The Container, Tokyo. It is the 13th catalogue in a series published by the gallery to archive and promote artists in Japan and abroad. The catalogue showcases writings by the gallery director, Shai Ohayon, Dr. Harald Kraemer (City University HK), Christian Clark, a collaborator of the artist, as well as notes by Tobias Klein. The publication is sectioned into two parts, outlining the creative and technical processes of this elaborate state-of-the-art installation. The exhibition presents life-size 3D printed masks, inspired by the Chinese opera "The Flower Princess" and multiple projections that are activated by mapping the movement of the gallery's visitors, making them an integral part of this interactive display. The augmented projections are viewed through a VR mask. The Container is a contemporary exhibition space in Nakameguro, Tokyo. The space opened in March 2011 to create a site that encourages people to engage with art installations and works, where the emphasis is on curation and the accessibility of contemporary art and ideas to the general public. As the name suggests, the physical space is no more than a constructed shipping container (485x180x177cm), made to measurements of old Japanese shipping containers, housed inside Bross hair salon, in one of Tokyo's most loved and trendy neighbourhoods. The Container invites Japanese and international artists to make site-specifc installations four times a year. Each installation remains on view to the public for two-and-a- half months. Since 2013, The Container also started to publish full-colour, bilingual (Jap/Eng) exhibition catalogues, available online and at the gallery. The space receives extensive international coverage, including ArtAsiaPacific, Artforum, Hyperallergic, Glass Magazine, Art & Antiques Magazine, Dazed & Confused, Blouin Artinfo, Art-iT, Bijutsu-Techo/BT, NHK, Tokyo Art Beat, The Japan Times, and The Sunday Times, travel guides and in-flight magazines, to mention only a few. www.the-container.com