The stress inducing imagery associated with broken technology transforms into a mesmerizing, almost serene digital installation in young Japanese artist Norimichi Hirakawa’s computer-generated video sculpture, The Indivisible (Prototype No. 1. Displayed across a wall of screens, it’s synced to show a rapid moving stream of glitch pixel surfaces. Similar to his previous work with digital manipulation, Hirakawa creates an immersive environment for the viewer by placing his installations in an empty, blacked-out room with high ceilings. This atmosphere is augmented by the sound of the static white noise that your television makes when you’re on the wrong channel.
GIF by the author, via
The installation was conceived and constructed as part of the 2015 Today Arts Japan Festival this September. A video of the installation in action was released last week via Anti-Utopias, a contemporary art platform founded by curator Sabin Bors. The Indivisible (Protyotype No. 1) was generated from three governing construction rules, explicitly laid out by the artist:
1. To let a computer program do a meaningful calculation.
2. To depict only by using numerical values that appear in a calculation process.
3. (However) Do not represent a calculation object as object itself.
The installation fully immerses viewers into a process-based environment where HiraKawa explores “whether it is possible for human beings to deal with principles and natural law underlying the world which natural science has been aiming to succeed in solving.” The three pillars of design are aimed to create an alternate “means to address the world, without the mediation of persecution or apprehension,” writes Bors, “where data defies comprehension.” Hirakawa builds a tangible demonstration of data flow and coding, allowing visitors to see “the abstract figuration of computing processes as they unfold before our eyes.”
Check out The Indivisible (Protyotype No. 1) in action below:
Norimichi Hirakawa – The Indivisible (Prototype No. 1) (2015) from Anti-Utopias on Vimeo.
For more work by the artist, click here, and keep your eyes on upcoming projects from Anti-Utopias here.
