ori.studio

Expanded to incorporate 617 individual fragments, comprised of deconstructed work, collected and documented environmental and contextual elements such as compass markings, instant noodle packages, caution tape, or drink boxes deriving from his daily observations, as well as completely new projects, and a collection of images documenting the ggg exhibition, this edition has continued to place emphasis on the “axis” Takada has created, where an order is generated not through a systematic application of logic, but rather in the acceptance and love for, and in the utilization of chaos which seems to have resulted in a completely new form of existence. This new object now further extends our ability to objectively see something who’s contours appear to be in a constant state of flux, combining layer upon layer of seemingly disparate material through physical means and by an order which has been generated through chaos, shifting position with the change of one perspective to the next.

Yui Takada : Born in 1980 in Tokyo. Graduated from Kuwasawa Design School. Director of Allright Inc., which consists of Allright Graphics, and Allright Printing. He is an associate professor at Tokyo Zokei University, a member of JAGDA, and a member of AGI.

Using paper which incorporates a textural difference on either side, the book in its original state is a completely flat unbound object, the work of the two artists being separated by virtue of never appearing on a single surface, but rather on opposing sides. Through the simple act of folding this object in half, a series of relationships appear like a weaving intervention piercing the artists lines and causing them to intertwine, though maintaining their independence by way of their continued textural and structural distinction as the book remains unbound. Going further, by turning this now folded object inside out, the chronology and relationships are reversed, allowing the symmetrical nature of the project to become graspable, and when reaching the conclusion of one path actualized in the book you are led to the beginning of the other, a loop like continuation exposing similarity, difference, and the growing influence on each other through proximity leading to organic change and inventive adaptation. 

OTHERS : The project comprises of three regional exhibitions and an art book that recreates the entire project in book form. The exhibitions will be held in Tokyo (The White) in June of 2023, in Antwerp(FRED&FERRY)in September of the same year, and in Beijing in 2024(dates and venues to be decided).
The theme of the exhibition is communication through artwork and the resulting expansion of said artwork. For each exhibition, the artist will first send a piece of work to the other artist based in the respective city, who then interprets it and proposes a venue configuration. The plan is then shared among all participants. The exhibition space is constructed interactively, incorporating each artist's response, including adding new works and updates to the installation. By actively incorporating unexpected elements that arise between the artists and others, elements such as misunderstandings and discrepancies brought about by their interpretations, we hope that others will intrude into the work and that this will ultimately trigger an organic metamorphosis of the work that transcends the artist's original intentions.

Ikuhisa Sawada : (b.1970), based in Tokyo.
Photographer and the director of the alternative space "The White" from 2014 to the present. He participated in the Osamu Kanemura workshop. Sawada uses the recording and mechanical properties of the camera to discover new ways of looking at things unrecognized by everyday vision. He has been working continuously on the "closed circuit" project since 2011. He makes large prints of photographs taken in public places (train stations) familiar to many people. He displays them in a layered manner in the exhibition space. As viewers walk among the photographs, the images interfere with each other. The artist attempts to create a new landscape by deconstructing and reconstructing relationships. Significant exhibitions include "αM Project 2017 - Mirrors and Holes - Photography into Sculpture." vol. 2 (curator: Yuri Mitsuda/2017/αM/Tokyo), "space/guide/volume" (2021/CAVE-AYUMIGALLERY /Tokyo), "Export/Import" supported by the Royal Netherlands Embassy (2021/The White/Tokyo and ps. K_o_t_/Amsterdam and the Royal Netherlands Embassy/Tokyo) a year-long series of monthly exhibitions titled "closed circuit, monthly vol.1- vol12" (The Gallery/Tokyo) and ”Biennale de l'image tangibles" (2021/Paris). He participated in "New York Art Book Fair" in New York (2018), “Hong Kong Art Book Fair” in Hong Kong (2019), and “SWAB Art Fair" in Barcelona (2022).
In 2017, his photo book "closed circuit" was published by his label; in 2018, “substance" was published by RONDADE; and in 2021 participated in "c-site.3 : Other” published by da-in-print.

Marc Nagtzaam : (b. 1968), based in Hoofdplaat, The Netherlands. Marc Nagtzaam has been producing a body of work that is based on one main subject: the idea of pattern, the repetition. He draws lines, grids, circles, words or sentences as in an endless search for new combinations and structures. The repetition and the graphic structure of his works seems reminiscent of minimal and conceptual aesthetics. Most of Marc Nagtzaam's drawings consist of darkly filled in graphite surfaces. Abstracted elements from architecture, graphic design, details from found photographs, or parts from previous drawings are starting points for every series of works. This source material is being reduced, with basic, elementary means: dots, lines and flat surfaces, to construct a sort of structure. Recent solo exhibitions include; 2020: Various, Elsewhere, Ongoing, [‘ka:jeta:n], Raum für Kunst, Berlin(DE)/ 2019: Regular Features, art3, Valance(FR)and Regular Features. Archiv, Zürich(CH). Duo exhibitions: 2021: Dialogue(with Meryem Bayram), Fred & Ferry, Antwerp(B)/ 2019: Regular Features(with Mark Manders). Enter Enter, Space for Books, Amsterdam and group exhibitions: 2023: 2003 - 2023, ProjecteSD, Barcelona(ES)/ 2022: Unboxing Aspen 5 + 6, Estrany-de la Mota. Barcelona(ES)/ 2020: Regular Features and Borrowed Space(curated by M.N.)ProjecteSD, Barcelona(ES)/ 2021: One way or another(with Hans Demeulenaere), SMAK, Ghent(B)/ Doppelgänger(with Hans Demeulenare). De Garage, Mechelen(B)/ Minstens 1 ½ uur en terug. De Warande, Turnhout(B)/ Kajetan Presents: [‘ka:jeta:n], Raum für Kunst, Berlin(DE). Recent publications: 2023: Present, Roma Publications 438 / 2022: Farben, Roma Publications 416 / 2019: Borrowed Space. Roma Publications 376.

New Format :

An anonymous interdisciplinary dialogue between 10 people on the topic of distance, conducted in English, Chinese, and Japanese.

Within this dialogue, the identities of those participating have been hidden from one another, only to be revealed upon its conclusion. This is an instance of “distance”, a boundary creating a relationship between dialogue and theme. This dynamic can too be seen within the form of this book; just as these ten contributors speak back to back, this book is divided into two distinct halves placed back to back—their contrasting directionalities, vertical and horizontal, defining a physical boundary which separates them.

Distance :

Walking in a landscape, if you stop for a moment, is it possible to see instances of ‘distance’ in the surrounding environment? Perhaps it is the darkening gradient of color in the lake due to the gradual change in depth, or the eusociality being displayed by the ants beneath us acting as a small mirror of our own world. Or the slow transition from old growth to new growth vegetation. Or the air growing thinner as the elevation rises. Or maybe is it the difference in sound and texture as you step from moss covered earth onto dry gravel. In thinking about it, are these all various distances building up the landscape in front of us?

The word ‘distance’ at first appears as something we rarely notice, and yet if we look closer we find it being repeated again and again in our conversations and in our writing. In saying there is no distance between us and something, are we actually referring to being in close proximity to what’s in front of us? ‘Distance is the possibility of seeing. In order to be able to see, I need distance from my object’ (Jun Miyagawa).

In understanding our surroundings, the relationships between us and all others is defined by distance. Within our perceptions the known and the unknown overlap. Distance allows us to see the intangible cognitive relationships we share with the other, and extreme distance or lack thereof (near and far) compromises our ability to see them.

What is the inductive state which lies between us and distance? Does distance have a material contour? How is the distance between the act of creation and its result measured? What are the conditions and perspectives that produce distance? What conditions make the disappearance or appearance of distance felt? What kinds of dynamic relationships exist between time, space, and distance? Can distance be free from time and space? Can distance be reproduced? Is distance equivalent to relationship? Is all matter in some sense divided? Do absence or pause and distance have equivalent meanings? Can a collective be defined by the distance within it? What lies beyond the boundaries of distance? Do overlapping distances exist? Does distance have an antithesis?

Contributors : Stephan Keppel / Kenshu Shintsubo / Osamu Kanemura / Shin Akiyama / gerlach en koop / Nerhol (Ryuta Iida+Yoshihisa Tanaka) / Marc Nagtzaam / Kozo Kadowaki / Megumi Matsubara / Ryuji Nakamura

Built out of 471 individual fragments, comprised of deconstructed work, collected and documented environmental and contextual elements such as waste bins, tree skin, “no smoking” signs, or newspaper clippings deriving from his daily life, as well as various other experimental projects, this book has become a physical manifestation of the “axis” Takada has created, where an order is generated not through a systematic application of logic, but rather in the acceptance and love for, and in the utilization of chaos which seems to have resulted in a completely new form of existence. Thus this is an object, comprised of layer upon layer of seemingly disparate material, bound together both physically and by an order generated through chaos, that gives us the opportunity to objectively see something who's contours appear to be in a constant state of flux, and which changes along side the change in perspective from one person to the next.

Essays by Ikuhisa Sawada (Photographer) and Shuta Hasunuma (Musician) provide perspectives from those who have no direct relationship with Takada, but who’s own practices are inextricably interlinked with the idea of “axis”. Interviews with designers Nobuo Nakagaki, Kenya Hara, and Kazunari Hattori, each of whom have long standing relationships with Takada, provide three unique impressions of his work, attitude, and methods.

Yui Takada : Born in 1980 in Tokyo. Graduated from Kuwasawa Design School. Director of Allright Inc., which consists of Allright Graphics, and Allright Printing. He is an associate professor at Tokyo Zokei University, a member of JAGDA, and a member of AGI.

The second derives from the nature of the word POEM itself. From the Greek “poieses” or “to make”, it seems to fittingly describe both this book, which itself combines various scenes, paintings, drawings, writings to make something which by virtue of newly revealed relationship, did not exist before, and the work, through means which cannot be described as dissimilar.

Each book is comprised of a series of combinations and juxtapositions, and no static order has been applied, as to demonstrate a pre-existing logic which slowly reveals itself in a constantly shifting cycle, where suddenly the intangible takes on physical form, in lines crossing 38 projects, 48 poems, and 132 images. 

Olivier Goethals : Based in Ghent. Studied Architecture and Urban Development. He works simultaneously as architect and artist. In his wide practice he researches the connection between physical space and consciousness. Goethals has made spatial interventions and artistic installations for venues such as: Z33 Hasselt, CIAP Hasselt, Extra City Antwerp, HNI Rotterdam, SMAK Ghent & Palais De Tokyo Paris, etc,. Previously he worked as a freelance senior architect for De Vylder Vinck Taillieu for eight years. Since 2010, he has taught at the KU Leuven Architecture Department. He was a guest teacher at RU Ghent faculty of Architecture, LUCA School of Arts Experimental Studio and ETH Zurich faculty of Architecture, among other institutes. Olivier is in charge of the design and implementation of all spatial interventions for art collective 019.

Other :

A pupa lies dormant within its cocoon, generating a detachment between it and the external environment. From the perspective of this fragile pupa, branches full of natural fragrance, the rolling in of a dense fog, and coarse earth all belong to what can be described as ‘other’. This tiny cocoon is recorded by dew in the form of a reflected image, and looking from the perspective of this reflection the universe itself becomes ‘other’. This phenomenon could be generated manually by photographing the present moment, as the past and future would therefore become ‘other’. This would also be true for the gaps which lie between one single point of time to the next. Following this line of thinking which is based on the dimension of time, the dimension of space can be regarded as ‘other’.

If we create in our own imaginations a unique space within which our consciousness can wander, all outside of this dreamt world can be referred to by using the word ‘other’, as can the the parts within the space which we don’t actively realize. The scale, distance, shape and complexity of ‘other’ is also constantly disturbed by the addition of new objects or by a change in scene and context.

Can ‘other’ exist at the same scale as a single cell? Can a subject coincide, replace, or influence ‘other’ from its own perspective? What are the differences in perspective from inside and outside in regards to ‘other’? If boundaries are blurred, how can we define what is ‘other’? Can the space (or interlaced relationship) between ‘other’ and a subject be observed? How many instances of ‘other’ can be generated through fixed-point observation? How can we distinguish ‘other’ from the white space which surrounds it? Can the original nature of things and the nature of ‘other’ be switched? Are there a variety of methods in forming ‘other’? From our own perspectives, can the phenomenon of ‘other’ be described as an illusion? Can ‘other’ in relation to time coexist with ‘other’ in relation to space?

Contributors : Kozo Kadowaki / Olivier Goethals / Ryuji Nakamura / Yuzo Kariya / Shuta Hasunuma / Osamu Sakuma / Fuminori Nousaku / Ikuhisa Sawada / Marc Nagtzaam / Takashi Fujino

Essay : Go Itami

There lies a certain quality in a quick thought which may at that moment present no clear value, or a sketch quickly drawn out on a note pad, its transience fleeting like a match glowing brilliant orange in the dark. Left in this incomplete state, its rawness perhaps limits how much action can be taken, but within the same instance provides us with a sense of universal appreciation in its simplicity and in its personal nature, crossing the borders between mediums as its meaning is not solely within a single space, but instead can be taken from context to context and used in an uncountable amount of ways.

Contributors : Toru Kase / Nishiyama Hiroshi / Tezzo Suzuki / Yehwan Song / Yuichiro Higashiji / Yuichi Nishimura / Mitsuru Tokisato / Yusuke Saitoh / Cheng Zhi  / Naoyuki Tokuda 

A bi-product of exhibition Composition Systems and Variables (09.10-09.17.2019, Shanghai), Soushi Tanaka : Post [Experimental Edition] derives from the alternate logic generated over 8 days. The primary logic, manifested as a complete year of Post, exists as a completely white object, only revealing itself when opened. Content is modularized, sections overlapping each other at various sizes. Lines appear; gaps between one island to the next. This negative space which crisscrosses the primary logic has been used for inserting new content, pulled directly from the exhibition.

Co-existing with the main work, a wall of alternative logic was generated comprising of images and material pulled from Post as a project and reintroduced into a completely new context. This material was then again pulled out and placed into the book, each of the 16 copies produced differ in both image and composition.

Essays have been provided by photographer Osamu Kamekura, and Rei Masuda, curator at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. The book also contains a disk with a video documenting the daily production methods used by Tanaka within the project.

Soushi Tanaka : A student of Osamu Kanemura, Tanaka focuses on the limits and structure of photography as a medium, as well as the function of machines (camera), the principles of how to utilize data generated by said machine, and the relevance of photos in relation to other media, Tanaka attaches great importance to the chemical and optical properties in photography, using mechanical properties to generate rules and use rules to automatically generate data. He uses this thinking as the basis of his work.

A machine (camera) can form images in different states from those in human eyes. Photographs can be embodiments of information captured from a flux of time, using machines. For him photographs are the records of remnants of time and information.

“Post” is a project that has been in constant development since April 2015. Each day, month, and year follows the same ritual -

Take photographs of all the pages of a newspaper from that day using multiple exposures, and combine them into a single image. (DAILY)
Take photographs of all the daily images taken within that month and combine them into a single image. (MONTHLY)
Take photographs of all the monthly images taken within that year and and combine them into a single image. (ANNUALLY)

The generated data will then be uploaded to various social media networks, and in the act of uploading data each day the process of creation is visualized.

Shedding light on the white space which exists between idea and outcome, our goal with this publication was to display both the work and the forests of details which exist behind it. Post is a project inherently linked to its process, and as such to understand the work you must first understand the process. Therefor this book goes beyond simply showing the project in a completed state, and instead presents it within multiple dimensions.

Year wraps month, which in turn wraps day, and in this way we are able to sense with form and space the culmination of one year of Post, each image displayed in sequence for the reader to experience the subtle changes rise up as one day passes to the next.

Essays have been provided by photographer Osamu Kamekura, and Rei Masuda, curator at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, on the topic of Post; illustrating two different perspectives on the project.The book also contains a disk with a video documenting the daily production methods used by Tanaka within the project.

Soushi Tanaka : A student of Osamu Kanemura, Tanaka focuses on the limits and structure of photography as a medium, as well as the function of machines (camera), the principles of how to utilize data generated by said machine, and the relevance of photos in relation to other media, Tanaka attaches great importance to the chemical and optical properties in photography, using mechanical properties to generate rules and use rules to automatically generate data. He uses this thinking as the basis of his work.

A machine (camera) can form images in different states from those in human eyes. Photographs can be embodiments of information captured from a flux of time, using machines. For him photographs are the records of remnants of time and information.

“Post” is a project that has been in constant development since April 2015. Each day, month, and year follows the same ritual -

Take photographs of all the pages of a newspaper from that day using multiple exposures, and combine them into a single image. (DAILY)
Take photographs of all the daily images taken within that month and combine them into a single image. (MONTHLY)
Take photographs of all the monthly images taken within that year and and combine them into a single image. (ANNUALLY)

The generated data will then be uploaded to various social media networks, and in the act of uploading data each day the process of creation is visualized.

Sample :

Living in an environment which is complex and ever-changing, we constantly sample things around us. These things which we interact with exist in a variety of contexts, such as natural or ecological phenomena, sound, temperature, fragments of time, or perhaps even the different fields of thought which people inhabit. The process of consciously collecting, experiencing, questioning, and judging the things which we come across represents ones attitudes and ideas towards specific things. Once sampled from its original context and time, an element begins to change depending on the personal experiences and consciousness of a particular person.

What is the relationship between the memory of a sample and a sample in its original context? What type of thinking happens in the process of sampling? What type of changes to something in regards to scale or essence are possible in the process of sampling? What happens when something sampled is blended with ones own perception and ways of thinking? How can one break the bonds between a sample and its original context or environment? What is the relationship between a sample and time? Can the act of sampling things be reversed? (Can our abstractions be sampled)?

Contributors : Jun Iizuka／Go Hiyama／Yo Shimada／David Reinfurt／Na Kim／Naohiro Utagawa／Ko Sin Tung／Keisuke Nagami／Joost Grootens／Yuichiro Higashiji

New : New is the beauty before old appears, and after old disappears.

There are many ways of interpreting what is new and what is old. New itself has many definitions, such as freshness/initial/awake/rebirth/change/redefinition/new value/new direction as well as many others. Sometimes new itself can even be interpreted as negative/regressive/unclear, and sometimes new is a timely response to our changing society. New gives us the ability to challenge preconceived habits and ways of doing things.

How can new be maintained and avoid becoming transitory within our rapidly changing society? What is the relationship between new and time? Is new just an illusion? How can we define the boundaries between new and old? Is it possible for new and old to continuously transition between each other? How should we understand new differently?

Contributors : Daniel Everett／Yui Takada／Go Itami／Takuma Tsuji／James Ginzburg／Jeroen Barendse／Soushi Tanaka／aaajiao／Uso Fujishiro／Koji Aramaki

Beginning at opposite ends of a long distance, the trajectories of the two artists resemble a series of paths traveling towards one another following parallel lines, passing as they reach out for ends that are simultaneously shared and separate.

Supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Japan

More info

The theme of the exhibition is communication through artwork and the resulting expansion of said artwork. For each exhibition, the artist will first send a piece of work to the other artist based in the respective city, who then interprets it and proposes a venue configuration. The plan is then shared among all participants. The exhibition space is constructed interactively, incorporating each artist's response, including adding new works and updates to the installation. By actively incorporating unexpected elements that arise between the artists and others, elements such as misunderstandings and discrepancies brought about by their interpretations, we hope that others will intrude into the work and that this will ultimately trigger an organic metamorphosis of the work that transcends the artist's original intentions.

Supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Japan

https://www.the-white-jp.com/exhibition/2023/0609/

Using the books that the ‘senders’ (designers, publishers, etc.) have been involved with as the main medium, we would like to create a dialogue with the audience and make this a new venue.

CAGE GALLERY is pleased to present ‘displacement’ by Japanese publisher Rondade and Chinese ori.studio from June 4th. The second edition of ‘displacement’ at CAGE GALLERY began in 2019 as an experimental project by Rondade on ‘books’ and ‘places’. For this exhibition, Rondade will collaborate with Chinese publisher ori.studio, sharing two windows of expression.

The exhibition will be composed of Rondade and ori.studio’s respective interpretations of a book found in a market, with Rondade reimagining the book in three dimensions and creating an object imagined from a different structure, and ori.studio creating a printed composition incorporating the elements of window transparency and barriers. Despite their seemingly different interpretations, what they have in common is a three-dimensional interpretation of the flatness of printed matter, and attempt to rethink the medium of books.