Coming Full Circle

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Darkness engulfs you as you cautiously walk along the corridor towards a low jumble of sounds: the tinkling of a bell, faint wooden tapping, drawn-out notes of an unknown instrument. Passing a yellowish, naked bulb, you glimpse the shadows of other observers nearby, half-obscured silhouettes. As you circle the room, more noises spiral out of the black as you catch sight of their origins on the walls: mugs and glass bottles performing a domestic ballet of never-ending pirouettes. Suddenly you face three enormous screens and—like peering through a window—you marvel at vast plains, ancient rock formations and migrating birds, immediately next to modest shots of an empty home bizarrely filled with tiny buildings and carnival rides. Mesmerised by the familiar yet unearthly combinations of sights and sounds, you feel compelled to stay a while longer, sensing the need to decipher an encoded message.

This is what I experienced when visiting O (2009), Hiraki Sawa’s multi-channel video installation. The acclaimed Japanese artist, born in 1977, has spent much of his life living in London as well as in his home country, and subsequently his work is permeated with a sense of transience and cultural mobility. Furthermore, his video pieces seem to share a common dreamy mood and whimsical and simple aesthetic, which both serve to facilitate the meeting of reality and non-reality.

Installed in a spacious, dark room, the work is comprised of elements ranging from the micro to the macro. Facing the back wall are three large freestanding screens, reaching over two metres in height and almost four in length, upon which are projected eight minutes of video synchronised with an ethereal soundtrack of what sounds like deep violin or... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline

Hiraki Sawa, O, 2009. Installation view. Multi-channel video installation: 3-channel video projection exhibited from hard drive, HD video, 16:9, colour and black and white, 5-channel sound, 8:00 minutes; 10 channel video installation exhibited on customised LCD monitors, HD video transferred to DVD, 16:9, black and white, silent, 00:60 seconds; 5-channel sound by Organ Octet (edited by Dale Berning) exhibited on customised spinning speakers; customised metal light frames and light-bulb fixtures, installed dimensions variable. Purchased 2010. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation. Collection Queensland Art Gallery. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan Gallery, New York/Shanghai. Photograph Mark Sherwood, QAGOMA.