Media Memory and Embodied Cognition in Chiharu Shiota's Installation Art

Using media memory theory and embodied cognition theory as a framework, this paper focuses on the interaction mechanism between material media and bodily perception in the works of Japanese installation artist Chiharu Shiota. In recent years, Chiharu Shiota's exhibition practice, such as the solo exhibition Silent Emptiness at the Red Brick Museum of Art in Beijing in 2025, has attracted widespread attention. Through her works, such as Multiple Realities and Gate to Silent Emptiness, her interpretation of Absent Presence and Emptiness in oriental philosophy further emphasizes the central position of material media and physical perception in the construction of memory. By analyzing representative works such as Key in Hand and in Silence, this paper will reveal how they construct a unique cognitive path of embodiment of media memory through the spatial narrative of silk thread network, the function of old objects as carriers of collective memory, and the combination of the audience's bodily movement, tactile experience and spatial interaction. The study will fill the gap in the existing literature exploring the interaction between the two and provide a reference for resisting memory homogenization in the digital age.