The representative artist of ARATANIURANO, Takahiro Iwasaki will be participate in the new group exhibition at Aomori Contemporary Art Center.

he 2013 theme for the Artist in Residence (AIR) Program is that of "Exchange." "Exchange" is a word frequently used in everyday life in the literal sense of transferring goods or interacting with people. In AIR, artists come in contact gain new stimulation and venture to create new works in an "exchanged" environment. This environment is completely different from their own familiar atelier, from the size of the studio and the surrounding scenery to the tools at their disposal. This exhibition will exhibit artists' productions created under the theme of exchange. Additionally, we took the word "transform," broke it down into its morphemes of "trans" and "form," and then rejoined the word to form "trans×form." "Trans" is a prefix which means to "surpass" or "convert" while "form" means "shape," "style," or "structure." By interchanging the different meanings of each morpheme, they can be interpreted in a variety of ways: to alter form, to transcend style, or to alter aspects, among other interpretations.

Artists carry out many exchanges and transformations throughout the production process. Not only do they convert the physical figures of material used in their works, but they also topple values and views attached to that object and can even transform the surrounding environment or scenery through their work. This exhibition focuses attention on the techniques and rules of each artist, who transform raw materials into works of art. While these four artists use commonplace objects seen in everyday life as materials in their works, they arm themselves with unique perspectives and groundbreaking methods of production which give a material or object new value by significantly altering its original form, appearance, or meaning. At times, these artists generate quality works with diverse interpretations by effortlessly diverging from even these methods of production. And those works pleasantly betray our images, prejudices, and preconceived notions of these materials and objects, stirring up new perceptions of the objects in the process.

Artists: Takahiro Iwasaki, Lyota Yagi, Manisha Parekh, Worapong Manupipapong

Courtesy of Aomori Contemporary Art Center