Makoto Taniguchi “We-presence”
We visited “We-presence,” a solo exhibition by Makoto Taniguchi. The venue is YOSHIAKI INOUE GALLERY in Osaka.
Makoto Taniguchi centers his practice on works in which he paints on the acrylic surface of a mirror-embedded acrylic box, letting the reverse side of the paint reflect in the mirror so that viewers can see the front and back of the work at the same time.
It is easy to focus on the gimmick of showing the front and back of the paint simultaneously, but its methodology feels as if it contains an inquiry into the very act of seeing.
When viewing the works, the viewer is inevitably confronted with their own reflection in the mirror.
As the character motifs of the work and one’s own image are cast side by side, a relationship of contrast emerges, and the composition grows more complex depending on the viewer’s angle.
Video Installation
On the third floor, a video installation work was on view.
The installation was designed to be interactive.
When the viewer clicks a mouse, a projected figure of a girl collapses in front of them, and the fallen image is printed out from a printer mounted near the ceiling, drifting down softly through the air.
Through the mouse moved by one’s own hand, a change occurs in a distant image, the printer activates, and the prints of the girl fall away mercilessly, drifting downward — it felt like a metaphor for our acts of consumption in a digital society.
Shinsaibashi PARCO
Concurrently with this solo exhibition, one large-scale work was also shown at “JP POP UNDERGROUND,” which was being held at Shinsaibashi PARCO.
