The label for Château Mouton Rothschild 2021 illustrated by Chiharu Shiota

The Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota has created the original artwork Universe of Mouton for the label of Château Mouton Rothschild 2021.

In her drawing, the fragile silhouette of a human figure faces gorgeous, generous nature. It is not the centre of attention but seems small compared to the environment. It is as though the figure is holding onto the balance between nature and humans. Its grip cannot be too tight or the thread will break, nor too loose or else the cloud will blow away and the connection will be broken.

“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.” Chiharu Shiota

Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, Chiharu Shiota, Camille Sereys de Rothschild and Philippe Sereys de Rothschild

The four threads represent the four seasons, setting time within the artwork’s space. While winter brings loneliness and sadness, the seeds of hope are planted in spring and grow into a summer of richness before coming to fruition in the fall. Whatever the vintage, the drinker is experiencing the conditions the grapes grew in.

“The four lines connecting the human to the environment represent the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, autumn) and all the emotions linked to them (solitude, hope, achievement).”

“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

Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild et Chiharu Shiota in tha artist’s workshop

Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, co-owner of Château Mouton Rothschild, is responsible for artistic and cultural matters at the estate as well as for relations with the artist who creates the label for the new vintage:

“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.”

Chiharu Shiota was born in Osaka in 1972 and is currently based in Berlin.

Shiota’s inspiration often emerges from a personal experience or emotion which she expands into universal human concerns such as life, death and relationships.

She has redefined the concept of memory and consciousness by collecting ordinary objects such as shoes, keys, beds, chairs and

dresses, and engulfing them in immense thread structures. She explores this sensation of a ‘presence in the absence’ with her installations, but also presents intangible emotions in her sculptures, drawings, performance videos, photographs and canvases.

In 2008, she was awarded “the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists, Japan”.