As part of the Asia-Pacific Weeks in Berlin, the Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata built several of the tree huts he is known for at the facade of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt and the adjacent park. This video shows Tadashi Kawamata working on his tree huts.

Tadashi Kawamata was born in Mikasa, Hokkaido (Japan) in 1953. He studied at Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku (Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music). Since 1999 he is professor for Inter Media Art at Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku.

“Tadashi Kawamata’s “Berlin Tree Huts” embody the human need for shelter and individuality. Tadashi Kawamata creates nests of civil disobedience with his tree houses in Berlin that spread from the Haus to the trees in the park, while interrogating the architecture of modernity. His “social sculptures” were exhibited at both Documenta 8 and 9, the Venice Biennale and Shanghai. The Gallery-to-go offers a platform for creatively thinking about the exhibitions. Artists’ talks and the conference: “Negotiating Difference – Contemporary Chinese Art in the Global Context” (22 – 24.10.) focus on the working conditions for artists and the relationship between the local and global in Chinese contemporary art.

Every two years, the Asia-Pacific Weeks — initiated by the Mayor of Berlin — engages in a dialogue with an influential region that has a substantial say in the future of the globe. In this 7th round of the series, over 200 events will focus on key issues dealing with mobility and energy.

Tadashi Kawamata: Berliner Baumhäuser (Berlin Tree Huts), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures). Berlin / Germany, September 2, 2009.

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