Life at the Threshold
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Aki Inomata 個展
2025.09.20 - 2025.10.25 |
開幕 Opening | 2025 / 09 / 20 (六) Sat. 2 pm
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展覽簡介
展名《Life at the Threshold》取自哲學家提摩西·莫頓（Timothy Morton）的「存在的閾限（Threshold of Being）」莫頓認為「閾限」並非清晰的邊界，而是一個模糊卻持續生成的場域：人類與非人類、文化與自然、生命與物質在其中交錯互滲。而AKI INOMATA的作品便是「閾限」的具象化。 AKI INOMATA認為「製作」這一個行為並非人類獨有，因此她透過與動物、昆蟲等生物合作，以跨物種「共創」的過程，展現出人類與自然世界緊密且複雜的連結。本次展出的作品，是源自日本從古以來與動物共生文化下的產物。 展場中放置的樹枝上，懸吊著一個個披著布料的昆蟲蛹狀/巢穴狀的物件是系列作品《Passing her a piece of cloth》，藝術家的合作對象是蓑蛾幼蟲。靈感源自日本的民間習俗，孩子會將紙片或毛線遞給蓑蛾，讓牠們用這些材料構築自己的蓑巢。INOMATA延伸這一習俗，將有松絞染 (註1) 的布料碎片給予蓑蛾，並記錄它們挑選材料、築巢的過程，最後再將蓑巢小心收集下來。這是在昆蟲的手藝與人類匠人的技術交疊下，形成跨物種的共同創作。 蓑蛾及松絞染也出現在另一系列扇形作品《Shibori (tie-dye) round fan with wing pattern of the wood boring bagworm》中。藝術家發現蓑蛾翅膀紋路雖循規則而生，但卻無一相同，而絞染亦然，即使遵循工法，每一件作品的紋樣也都是唯一。所以藝術家將蓑蛾翅膀的紋理轉化為絞染圖案，再與有松匠人合作，開發出第 101 種全新的有松絞染技法，並製成形如翅膀獨一無二的扇子。 而輸出作品《Galloping Nambu breed horse》則以遠古日本原生馬種「南部馬」為主角，完成於藝術家於十和田市現代美術館駐地創作期間。南部馬曾在東北地區與人類緊密生活，甚至與人共居一屋；然而自明治時代起，因軍事育種政策而與西方馬種配種，最終逐漸走向滅絕。藝術家用最後一匹南部馬「盛号」的骨骼為樣本，複製其骨架，再以冰形塑出肌肉結構，復原了這匹僅存於歷史檔案中的物種。藝術家利用這個冰雕拍攝 12 格連續影像，重新喚回南部馬在十和田雪原(註2)上奔馳的身影。同時拍攝的方式也是向 19 世紀攝影先驅埃德沃德·邁布里奇（Eadweard Muybridge）《飛馳中的馬》(The Horse in Motion)致敬。 透過這些跨物種的合作，INOMATA 的創作讓觀者置身於「閾限」之中，重新感受生命與生命的連結，觀者或許也能在這些細膩的交會中，重新思考自身如何置身於萬物的共生之境。 註1：有松絞染（Arimatsu shibori）是日本愛知縣有松地區的傳統手工紮染技藝，已有 400 多年歷史。以其獨特的綁、縫、折等方式，透過線的束縛來阻擋染料，形成各種精美花紋。
註2：《Galloping Nambu breed horse》完成於藝術家於十和田市現代美術館駐地創作期間，因此讓南部馬的身影得以再次現身於十和田雪原。 。。。。。
About Exhibition
“Life at the Threshold” refers to philosopher Timothy Morton’s notion of the “Threshold of Being.” For Morton, a “threshold” is not a clear-cut boundary but a blurred, continuously generative field—in INOMATA’s works, where humans and nonhumans, culture and nature, life and matter intersect and intermingle, materialize this notion of the threshold. Believing that the act of “making” is not exclusive to humans, INOMATA collaborates with animals and insects to highlight the intricate and intimate interconnections between humanity and the natural world. The works presented here stem from Japan’s long-standing culture of coexistence with animals. One of the featured series, “Passing her a piece of cloth”, consists of cocoon- or nest-like objects draped in fabrics, suspended from branches. INOMATA’s collaborators in this work are bagworm larvae. Inspired by a Japanese folk custom in which children give scraps of paper or yarn to bagworms for them to merge into their cases, INOMATA extends the tradition by offering fragments of Arimatsu shibori-dyed (note 1) fabric. She documents the bagworms’ process of selecting and weaving the materials, before carefully collecting the finished cases. The result is a cross-species collaboration that fuses the craftsmanship of insects with that of human artisans. Bagworms and Arimatsu shibori reappear in another fan series, Shibori (tie-dye) round fan with wing pattern of the fungus-feeding bagworm. INOMATA observed that while the wing patterns of bagworms follow a certain order, no two are ever identical—just like shibori, where each piece, despite following the same technique, possesses a one-of-a-kind pattern. Translating the wing motifs into tie-dye designs, she worked with Arimatsu artisans to develop the 101st new technique of this 400-year-old craft, creating fans as unique as the insects’ wings themselves. Another work, “Galloping Nambu breed horse”, centers on the ancient Japanese native horse, the Nambu breed, made during INOMATA’s residency at the Towada Art Center. The Nambu horse once integrated closely into daily life in Japan’s Tōhoku region, living and working alongside humans. However, after the Meiji era the Nambu horse gradually went extinct when crossbreeding with Western horses was enforced for military purposes. Using the skeleton of the last known Nambu horse, “Mori-go (Sakari-go)”, INOMATA reconstructed its frame, then shaped its musculature with ice. This reimagining revived the horse, long lost to history, within the snowfields of Towada(note 2). Captured in a sequence of 12 frames, the ice sculpture’s gallop recalls not only the horse’s presence but also pays homage to Eadweard Muybridge’s pioneering photographic study The Horse in Motion. Through these collaborations with other species, INOMATA places viewers at the “threshold,” inviting them to re-experience the connections between living beings. In these delicate encounters, audiences may find themselves rethinking their own place within the ecology of coexistence. Note 1: Arimatsu shibori is a traditional tie-dye technique from the Arimatsu district in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with a history of over 400 years. Using methods of binding, stitching, and folding, artisans block dye penetration with thread to create intricate patterns. Note 2: “Galloping Nambu breed horse” was created during the artist’s residency at the Towada Art Center, hence the revived figure of the Nambu horse once again gallops in Towada’s snowy fields. |