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<\/p>\n\u201cA girl looking back and turn around\u201d (partial) \u00a9 cobird<\/p>\n
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In March 2020, as I am writing these words, the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak is yet to be contained. The doors of art museums and cinemas are closed, and live events have been canceled or postponed. \u201cMetamorphosis, Perceptions of the Passage of Time,\u201d the focus of this review, also had to close with half of the planned exhibition period still to go. That a display highlighting the work of collage and assemblage artists, as well as remixers, was brought to a halt by the furious spread of a mutated (\u201cremixed\u201d) virus is supremely ironic.<\/p>\n
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\u201cPosition: #Sailing\u201d \u00a9 Junya Kataoka + Rie Iwatake<\/p>\n
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In the work of Junya Kataoka + Rie Iwatake, a unit of two artists, Kataoka is usually responsible for kinetic 3D elements while Iwatake creates 2D collages. Together they compose spaces in which multiple themes resonate in a gentle manner. The duo\u2019s typical methods include having designs interact to give birth to stories, as seen in \u201ctrans #Circles and Circulations,\u201d a minute collage of stamps and postmarks; and using motors to add contingency and endless orbits to everyday items, as in \u201cOn the Swaying Blackboard.\u201d The venue for the exhibition described here was Fujisawa, the host city for the sailing events at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, so the stamps used portrayed water sports, while the landscape depicted was that visible from the museum window \u2013 a view over the entire city. A new development could be seen in the use of solar batteries and magnets \u2013 power sources borrowed from outside the venue \u2013 which served to fuel the display with \u201cborrowed energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the seams that connect the \u201cglobal\u201d appear to be coming apart as a result of the coronavirus crisis, with borders being closed, logistics chains disrupted, and people separated from each other, the artworks continue their movement without an audience. Earth\u2019s magnetic field and the rays of the sun have no economic effects, nor do they have any part in enhancing a specific country\u2019s prestige. The works assume a \u201cglobe-conscious\u201d character, a meaning beyond that intended by the artists. This is similar to works such as those of Lieko Shiga (*1), who connects the tilt of Earth\u2019s axis to spring and spring to mania, and Yuji Ono (*2), who captures the moment when sunlight obscures a famous painting.<\/p>\n
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