Jiro Osuga - Departures
Aside from a storybook, airports just might be the most magical way to ignite your imagination. Though physically rooted in one place, familiar local elements are often obscured by the transient comings and goings of people of all shapes, sizes and nationalities. And just as soon as you’ve caught a glimpse and a whiff of their image and odours… they’re gone! Never to be seen again. Whether you’re leaving, arriving or simply dropping someone off, airports provide endless opportunities to get insights into worlds other than our own.
But apparently that’s not enough, so Jiro Osuga decided to embellish a typical airport experience with intergalactic visitors and time-displaced travellers. Unsurprisingly, everyone seems to be quite at ease with wheelie suitcases, and no one bats an eyelash at the eclectic insanity of it all. There’s so much weirdness, but it’s not that far removed from an actual airport, as anyone that has ever flown to a land foreign from their own can attest. Different clothes, hairstyles and snacks can be just as alien as the happy frog and humanoid robots shown here.
I used to travel for work. A lot. I never calculated just how many times around the globe I’d gone but I lived in a permanent state of jet lag for about three years and had more than a few middle of the night moments where I’d woken up not remembering where I was. It really wears you down, but in spite of it all I always found the travel to be magical. And the magic begins at the airport.
Maybe that’s why I love the wrap-around effect of this installation. 253 panels cover 160 sq metres of the gallery. Sitting on the hard wooden bench in the middle is just as uncomfortable as waiting for your plane to depart, excerpt here you’re not fighting for the arm rest and there’s no weary travellers snoring in the corner. You can people watch or browse the duty free racks as if you were really there. For someone who still loves travel but isn’t in a rush to do it again any time soon, this show is the perfect place for me to rekindle my wanderlust.
Osuga apparently spent eight months making these in his studio, and clearly had a lot of fun sneaking in subtle jokes and personal references. There’s a cafe he named after himself, and I’m told the ‘PMF’ logo that you’ll see plastered everywhere means ‘Pigs May Fly’. I spotted aliens, squid, eyeballs peering out of the cargo, a mermaid in a wheelchair and the unmistakable aura of cool that surrounds a flight crew as they strut through the terminal like The Pink Ladies in Grease. The only thing missing is a check-list for the kids to find all the quickly characters.
A bonus with this show is the rare opening of the upstairs gallery, where a series of smaller, one-off works by Osuga continue the air travel theme. I’d never seen this space, and it felt a bit like sneaking into the business class lounge. Except there’s no free snacks or alcohol and it’s standing room only, which is fine by me because in this exhibit the main terminal downstairs is the best place to be.
Plan your visit
‘Departures’ runs until 01 July
Visit Flowers Gallery and follow @FlowersGallery on Instagram for more info about the venue.
Visit planetjiro.com for more info about the artist.
🖼️ Want more art? Visit the What’s On page to see a list of recommended shows, sorted by closing date. Don’t miss ‘em!