yasuaki onishi suggests society today with 'distance between presence and absence'

japanese artist yasuaki onishi presents ‘distance between presence and absence’ at the takamatsu art museum in japan. the installation sees semi-transparent cylindrical bags slowly move vertically between tableware placed on the ground, and foods suspended from the ceiling, while replacing the air inside. as the bag swells, it swallows the collection of rice seeds and soybeans in a transparent tube at the top of the bag while filling the volume of the room. the bag then wilts and moves away from it, approaching the floor and gradually revealing the contours of the tableware through the double membrane. they each move in a regular cycle in various parts of the exhibition space.

‘through exhibitions in various places around the world, I have felt that the concept of emptiness and void is very different for every viewer,’ yasuaki onishi told designboom in a recent interview. ‘it’s a big discovery for me and the potential of the work. I want to create a place that encourages the viewer to pour their own imagination into the cavity.’

all images by nobutada omote

‘what is visible or what is invisible. what was visible but now is invisible,’ says yasuaki onishi on ‘distance between presence and absence’. ‘to try to see them or to imagine something different. in the constant flow of time, repeating in the same cycle day after day, yet never the same. the existence of unevenness. getting close or moving away. being presence and being absence. that the matter is made even clearer by other existences. that a distance exists even between the two.’

the events and relationships that occur in ‘distance between presence and absence’ suggests the state of the world and society today. yasuaki onishi presents the work as an opportunity to look at those from a different standpoint while working on our perceptions. ‘starting with things that are familiar or things that are ungraspable, I am interested in the leap that my mind makes into a system that is beyond our reach,’ he says. ‘the exhibition room in the museum in which the dishes, bags and foods are arranged is also itself a large vessel. something should fill an empty vessel and the seeds are to be passed on to the next generation as food for life.’

project info:

artist: yasuaki onishi
title: distance between presence and absence
year: 2020
size: variable
material: polyethylene sheeting, fan, timer, tableware, food and drink containers, rice, soybeans, etc
venue: takamatsu art museum, takamatsu, japan