ARTISTS

TAKASHI ARAI PRESENTS AN ARTWORK CONSISTING OF HUNDREDS OF DAGUERREOTYPES AND RESEMBLING A FOLDING SCREEN, STRETCHING HORIZONTALLY. EACH DAGUERREOTYPE RECORDS A FRAGMENT OF LANDSCAPE, RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY THE ARTIST ALONG THE EASTERN COAST OF JAPAN BETWEEN 2010 AND 2021. TOGETHER, THESE ARE ABSTRACTLY COMPOSED TO FORM A LANDSCAPE IN SERIES. IT IS AN EXPRESSION THAT REMINDS THE VIEWER OF A PICTURE SCROLL IN WHICH COEXIST DIFFERENT TIMES AND SPACES. THE DAGUERREOTYPE PROCESS, PREDATING THE REPRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY, FIXES THE IMAGES TO MIRROR-LIKE SURFACES. THE VIEWER IS REFLECTED IN EACH OF THESE, GIVING THE IMPRESSION THAT HE OR SHE HAS ENTERED THEM. WITH THE EXHIBITION HAVING TO BE POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19, IT NOW GOES AHEAD IN WHAT IS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE, AND ARAI HAS CAPTURED THE PRESENT EASTERN COASTAL REGION, WITH QUAKE-AFFECTED CHIBA AS HIS STARTING POINT, DEPICTING THE LINK BETWEEN TIME AND SPACE.