Media, Events, Experiments
Stuart
Works created by Stuart Ward, primarily artistically related.
Sakura in Wadabori Park
Apr 13th
Hanami (Flower Viewing) has become my favourite time of year in Japan. The few days of blossoms remind me of life, renewal, and the ephemeral nature of living things.
Music by Boards of Canada, the song is Zoetrope.
Yoga in the City
Mar 2nd
Yoga teacher-in-training Geneva worked with Hfour to create an artistic view of yoga in a public space. As the pose is held, the people who represent the stresses of the city seem to fade away, creating a metaphor for the psychological benefits of yoga. The music is used with permission, created by Younger Brother.
Shinagawa’s River of People Phenomenon
Dec 11th
Every weekday morning from 8-10am at Shinagawa station in Tokyo, crowds of people on their way to work flow like a river through the corridors of the station. Tokyo business commuters are famous for packing into trains to get to and from work, this video depicts what happens at a major business district when the commuting rush arrives in Shinagawa. This is quite possibly the busiest area in Japan at this time. Music by The MFA, the song is The Difference It Makes (original mix), from James Holden’s album, Balance 005. This video was captured on one morning in December 2008.
Thought Projector at the ICC
Dec 7th
If anyone is interested in the intersection of Art and Technology, they should hit up the NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC) next to Hatsudai station, near Shinjuku, Tokyo. There is a show called Light InSight, which features several installations which discuss light in Art. It included a machine which photographs retinas, a sonochemical observatory, luminescent walls, and interactive smoke tunnels.
The Open space featured more contemporary works of Art including a very exciting anechoic chamber, and a lot of interactivity in nearly every work.
NTT ICC
- My retina image from the ICC
60s Themed Video Installation
Nov 28th
Hfour planned and produced a 60s themed video installation at a private event north of Tokyo. Using content from era-defining movies on four televisions and using oil projections to cover the walls, an ‘end of the sixties’ theme was created for a social space at the event. It has been postulated that the peak of the hopes and aspirations for the American Dream happened some time in the late sixties. The world is now in a period of dark times and the hopes of peace, love and freedom from the sixties are a vague memory of a party after last call. At the private event, for one evening, in one space, the hopes of a generation could be viewed with remorse or with a faint feeling of hope for the future.
Light Graffiti Experiment #1
Oct 12th
Motion tracking experiment using light graffiti as a topic. Further research is needed to produce an accurate drawing. Perhaps following an ‘invisible pencil line’ would solve the problem when the surface is clean and smooth.
Light Graffiti experiment from Hfour on Vimeo.
The hidden nature of beauty.
Sep 3rd
A series 8 of paintings on 61x61cm plywood boards was completed for a group exhibition. The subject matter is magazine models, painted in oil on untreated hardwood ply and then sealed. Their message raises questions about beauty and nature. Natural beauty is found everywhere, it is possible to see in many pristine locations which haven’t been adjusted by humans. Natural beauty is also found in human faces: models are selected by their looks, because it is their appearance that is attractive to viewers which helps sell products. However, their appearance is augmented with make-up and computers to improve the overall appeal and beauty. The same augmentative activities are performed with natural materials and objects. The natural beauty of wood grain does not appear without the help of humans and tools. The plywood surfaces of the paintings are a form of ‘constructed nature’: they are perceived to be natural, but do not appear in nature. Other examples include the Nautilus shell (the spiral aesthetic is invisible until the shell is cut), trans-axially cut fruit and polished stones.
Wet Paint Redux
Aug 28th
Hfour did a live painting show at Ever on the 29th of May 2008. Musical accompaniment by Esie and a traditional flute player.
Here is the write-up from the flyer:
Hfour explores the transience and ephemerality of life using paint as a metaphor. By intentionally repurposing traditional artists’ materials, he expresses a paradigm shift which suggests the awareness of the impermanent nature of contemporary society (disposable). Hfour channels primal expressions incorporated with reactive gestures to perform a painting without termination.
A collaborative performance with Flyflyfly reinforces the convergence of technology and human instinct; the postmodern city and the condition of society.
Two pieces were performed, both canvases were destroyed after the show.
Also included are photographs from the first live painting show performed in 2002 in Canada.
Exivision
Aug 23rd
A friend of mine emailed me to express his wish to attend my Art show and misspelled the word exhibition as exivision. I was impressed with his new word and named the show after it. The longer title was “Thunder Dragons and Flying Tigers: Visions of Bhutan.
Exivision toured through three exhibition spaces, two in Tokyo (2006 and 2007) and one in Kyoto (2007).
P1X3L5
Aug 22nd
Digital photographs from outward journeys, Digital prints from inward journeys.
December 10th-20th 2005, at Art Cocktail in Nakatsu, Osaka, Japan.
