Japanese Art Collective Mé has exhibited an art installation of ocean waves titled Contact at the Mori Art Museum.
Exhibiting the waves of an ocean in a small and confined room, there is a window located towards the back of the room to allow natural light to illuminate the installation. As the sun moves throughout the day, the reflection on the waves is altered, giving it a new perception.
Created to “provoke awareness of the inherent unreliability and uncertainty in the world around us”, the art installation is part of Mori Art Museum’s Roppongi Crossing exhibition series.
“The Roppongi Crossing series of exhibitions, launched in 2004 by the Mori Art Museum, provide an overall snapshot of the state of the Japanese contemporary art scene every three years. Roppongi Crossing 2019: Connexions will take a close-up look at “connexions” revealed via contemporary artistic expression,” said Mori Art Museum.
“An era such as ours, characterized by the fast-paced development of information, communication and myriad other technologies at an accelerating pace, also brings with it new problems,” noted Mori Art Museum. “Though there is greater recognition of diverse values, “divisions” of various sorts are also becoming increasingly apparent – as seen in the problem of the internet, or more particularly in the realm of social media – which by rights ought to foster openness, conversely reinforcing opinions and perceptions of a similar nature; conflict sparked by political bias; and ever-growing economic disparity.”
“Amid this, artists offer us many types of connection through their works: by joining polar opposites, by fusing the heterogeneous, by giving visual expression to connections that already exist,” explained Mori Art Museum. “Their efforts also serve as critiques of today’s society, as ways of turning ideas upside down, and perhaps even as clues for addressing divisions. It is our hope that the new connections born out of this exhibition will offer meaningful opportunities to engage with Japan as it is right now.”
