working with monochrome is a ritualistic activity. no other colour palette resonates as strongly with my inner-being. it’s vibrant but quiet, and dynamic but minimalistic, and within these contradictions, i always find a poetry.
perception, 2020 by nanaka kishi is a part of a project for a fine art module class she took as an exchange student in the UK. she had been working on “site-specific art”, which she further explains in her statement below.
nowadays we are facing countless issues on an unprecedented scale all over the world. to find solutions to the root of them, we indispensably need to bind ourselves together, to interconnect and start communicating with each other beyond our identity along with our locations. understanding won’t be achieved unless we start having conversations, especially during this pandemic. plus, the development of digitalisation has brought a dramatic transition to the way we communicate. i feel like people in this modernised society feel restless, as if we are being chased by something invisible. using our five senses, we need to feel alive in a true sense of its word.
based on this substantial background, i aim to generate conversations by exploring the meaning of site-specificity as well as topography and reflecting them on my projects. the conversations i mention here are not restricted to those between artworks and audience, it could also be actual conversations among people, unspoken conversation between a person and a social issue, or any other form of philosophical dialogue. for my purposes, ‘site-specificity’ refers to the state in which a meaningful location, the public, works of art, and any other conditions are included in one place, through which innumerable mutual communications can be formed. if each of us is represented by a dot, site-specificity draws lines between us, as our group successfully accomplished through the performing art project. i wholeheartedly believe that site-specificity sets us free from the acquired conditions which a society systematically creates and that is the fundamental concept to approach where we are meant to be in the long run. accordingly, the aim of the project at this time is to manipulate optical illusions to encourage the audience to consider their existence in relation to the work and create opportunities to generate various discussions over the space.
concerning the audience participation, i am installing masking tapes on the wall and the floor in my accommodation since displaying two dimensions is not enough to get people involved to its topography. i would like to realise optical effects to make the audience aware of their certain presence. thereby, i am going to apply the tapes carefully and not limit myself to basic shapes so that they are fully engaged in it with their imagination and critical thinking. i am concentrating on utilising the reflective shapes and repeating solid layers and making the most of the natural wood of the original surface whilst assuming its topological context. through this i believe the audience can anyhow participate in the illusions.
as i have explained, this installation is to generate figurative and non-figurative conversations over the space by way of visual effects. there are numerous unidentifiable shapes which could be exhilaratingly transformed by the angle from which they are appreciated. by employing my idea and experiences, i have surely come closer to expressing my personal philosophy and aesthetics on this work. i am absolutely satisfied with this outcome; however, it is highly regrettable that i cannot display it to the public during this time, which again made me realise the nature of artworks and the contextual irreplaceability of audience.
may 2020
-n.k.
updated october 2021
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nanaka (菜々香), 23 is a japanese artist who explores the inner psychological world and unconsciousness of human beings. her current artistic interests include philosophical and psychological themes concerning human cognition, interpretation, and aesthetic appreciation.
AMORPHOUS MIND 