A collage of objects

Found Object Installation by Ryota Aoyagi

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「就像畫家在畫布上構圖一樣,我以色彩、形狀、質感,在空間內構圖,造出一片獨特的景色。」藝術家青柳龍太如此形容自己的作品。

青柳龍太在2005年,發表了首個Found Object Installation,將他搜集回來的陶藝、玻璃器皿、古道具、舊布、洋娃娃等,憑著直覺佈置在空間裡。來歷不同、時代背景不同的東西,在他的安排之下,展現出強大的張力。觀者難以說明他將表達甚麼,他也沒有特別想要表達任何訊息。物件盛載的記憶與歷史性,在空間裡偶然或必然地相遇,在它們交匯之時,編織出超越了想像的故事性來。無以名狀的感性經驗,或許就是青柳龍太,想要創造的東西。

青柳龍太的作品,後來吸引了法國藝術家Sophie Calle,透過Sophie Calle,他認識了杉本博司,三人更於2013年在靖國神社外,舉行了只有三家店舖的跳蚤市場,他們各自選物,組合,並出售,而賣剩的物品,則於同年11月,在東京舉行了名為「Unsold」的展覽。

2017年,青柳龍太於東京都一所私人宅邸的防空洞內,舉行的「『2015』『2016』」展覽最為人津津樂道。他將兩年間收集的東西,造成兩件大型裝置。參觀者必須預約,再由青柳龍太親自帶領參展。有藝評家認為,是次展覽的觀展方式,有如將原來充滿壓迫感的防空洞,演化為一所茶室,強調了人與人、人與物的一期一會。

東京的Gallery小柳,現正為青柳龍太舉辦首個個人展覽「Sign」,在藝廊的白箱子空間裡,物件與物作會踫撞出怎樣的景色來?

“Painters illustrate with paint on a canvas, while I create my art by arranging various colors, shapes, textures in a given space. This is how I create a unique spectacle,” explained Ryota Aoyagi when describing his artworks. 

Aoyagi’s Found Object Installation series was first launched in 2005. He used his gut instinct to decorate an exhibition space with ceramics, glassware, used objects, ragged cloth, and dolls he collected. Although these objects all came from different backgrounds and eras, together, they form a very powerful visual impact. While the audience found it difficult to articulate his idea, Aoyagi has, after all, nothing in particular to communicate with his audience. The memory and history of the objects can interact with each other when they are placed in the same room, such an interaction can create stories that go beyond human imagination. The inexplicable sensation is perhaps what Aoyagi wants to achieve.

The French artist Sophie Calle is very fond of Ryota Aoyagi’s artwork. She also introduced him to the Japanese photographer and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto. In 2013, the three of them held a flea market outside of Yasukuni Shrine that only featured three stalls. They separately picked various objects, assembled them, and sold them in their stalls. Later that year in November, they held an exhibition called Unsold to display the things that they failed to sell.

Aoyagi’s “2015” “2016” exhibition held in 2017 in a bunker inside of a privately owned mansion is one of his most known exhibitions. He made use of objects he found in the past two years to build two massive pieces of installation. Visitors needed to first make an appointment, during their visit, they would be guided by Aoyagi himself. Some art critics suggested the format has successfully lightened the sense of oppressing space of the bunker. The exhibition space was transformed into a Chashitsu (space designed for tea ceremony) that could remind visitors of the beauty of their every encounter with people and things. 

Gallery Koyanagi in Tokyo is now hosting the first Ryota Aoyagi solo exhibition Sign. What kind of interesting interactions between objects will we see in the pure white space of the gallery? 

 

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