"Ambiguity"
Koichi Nishiyama
12 September - 4 October 2020
Cities and living spaces are usually built rationally and orderly. However, windows, facades or buildings’ intersections could be conceived as neutral buffer zones with loose order where outside and inside spaces meet each other. Such spaces could be quite vague and ambiguous. This project was born out of the idea to show how “light” and “plants” may often be present beyond human intentions in such ambiguous places.
Gallery G-77 is located in the center of Kyoto, which has a grid-structure and is surrounded by a mixture of historical and modern textures. Such modern textures could be seen anywhere in Japan. And some empty lots in this grid are scattered like missing teeth.
In this exhibition, the artist is aiming to unite the structure of the city around the Gallery and ambiguous structures shown in the works on display. Through this endeavor the artist provides a new meaning and creates a unique format of the gallery space. Thus, space is perceived through the event -the exhibition- that happens within it over time.
It is also an attempt to reconsider the way of having an "exhibition" which is usually held in a limited place and time.
I have written about "photographs" and “art works” many times at the request of other people. At first, I didn't understand the reason for putting it into words and couldn't express my thoughts and feelings in a satisfying way. But it motivated me to take new pictures, so I think that this experience was very helpful.