Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota joins the likes of Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Picasso, Salvador Dali, and even King Charles, in an annual tradition that stretches back to 1945, with being tapped to have her artwork featured on Bordeaux powerhouse Chateau Mouton Rothschild's wine bottle's label for the 2021 vintage.

Shiota's work titled Universe of Mouton features a "fragile silhouette of a human figure [facing] gorgeous, generous nature", which is meant to reflect the delicate interconnectedness between the man and nature.

"When I visited Château Mouton Rothschild, I was very inspired by their relationship with nature. They depend on the weather and do not interfere with mother nature. They accept the conditions in which the grapes grow. I think Mouton is holding on to the balance of human and nature.

It is like preserving the memory of the year in the wine. I find this very fascinating because I also believe that the objects that surround us accumulate our memories and existence."

Chiharu Shiota

Chiharu Shiota. 

The Japanese artist was born in Osaka in 1972 and had completed her studies in Berlin under the likes of luminaries such as Marina Abramovic, and has a particular focus in creating onsite installations that are immersive and tactile, with her breakout work being The Key in the Hand, which was featured in the 2015 Venice Biennale. 

Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild who has been in charge of selecting the artist in the annual tradition commented "I was fascinated by Chiharu Shiota’s vision, so close to the world of wine, especially in the relationship between humankind and nature, fragile and fertile, generous but unpredictable. And then there is that bright red colour, one of her trademarks, so reminiscent of new wine running out of the vats. For me the label embodies what I would call metaphorical realism: I see in it a vinegrower firmly grasping a fabulous cluster of grapes."

Chateau Mouton Rothschild began the tradition in 1924 when its owner Baron Philippe began deciding to take the entire winemaking process inhouse on estate, including wine maturing, bottling and marketing, as opposed to the standard practice of sending barrels of wine to local Bordeaux merchants who took care of the wines post production. In commemoration, a poster designer, Jean Carlu, was commissioned to create a unique label for that vintage's bottle, with a specific addition of the text " Ce vin a été mis en bouteille au château" which marks the wine as having been made and bottled by the Chateau itself.

Nonetheless it was only in 1945, post the Second World War, that this practice became an annual tradition that has now counted amidst its alumnus an impressive lineup the likes of Joan Miro, Francis Bacon, Keith Haring, and many more leading figures from the art world.

Images courtesy of Christies.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team