TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Step into a realm where time, memory, and perception blur at Ma, an exhibition that opened Sept. 6 at Taipei’s Aki Gallery.
In Japanese, “ma,” often translated as “gap,” defies simple definition. It can refer to spatial intervals, fleeting moments, emotional distances, or the pauses between words.
Ma invites visitors to inhabit these in-between spaces and experience the subtle, elusive qualities that exist between presence and absence as Japanese artists Yasuda Tomoshi, Kurimune Misato, and Osaki Nobuyuki explore the intersections of time and perception, image and memory.
Yasuda deconstructs and reconstructs perception. From a distance, his works resemble conventional paintings, while up close, each color and brushstroke emerges as a discrete element, contributing to the whole.
The significance of each piece is fluid, changing with the viewer’s angle and proximity, turning observation into an interactive experience.
Kurimune Misato presents artificial intelligence-generated portraits that merge the familiar with the unknown, prompting viewers to imagine someone they know in a virtual, dreamlike form. By layering five to six AI-generated faces using UV printing and raster techniques, Misato creates a tactile interplay between reality and illusion, presence and absence.
Osaki Nobuyuki investigates the impermanence of memory and identity. In a recorded demonstration, his painted figures dissolve under water-soluble solvents, illustrating how memories fade yet endure.
He also incorporates audio interviews from his time in Argentina, exploring memory and identity and capturing the experiences of Japanese abroad.
In other displays of framed photographs, Nobuyuki contrasts images behind standard glass, which tend to yellow over time, with those framed using UV-resistant materials, highlighting how memory can be fragile yet preserved.
