“Rapt! 20 Contemporary Artists from Japan”
Shiro Takatani, Ryoko Aoki and Zon Ito
29 Sept → 21 Oct 2006

Rapt! 20 Contemporary Artists from Japan is an ambitious program of exhibitions, residencies and public events showcasing contemporary Japanese art in Australia. Developed by the Japan Foundation in the Australia-Japan Year of Exchange, it is based on cross-cultural research and discussions by Japanese curators, Shihoko Iida, Fumihiko Sumitomo and Yukihiro Hirayoshi, and an Australian curatorial advisory group led by Philip Brophy, Max Delany, Stuart Koop and Kathryn Hunyor. Rapt! is remarkable in its scope and commitment, the largest collaborative arts project ever undertaken in Australia involving twenty organisations in developing different facets of the one project.

Rapt! at West Space presents new work by Kyoto artists SHIRO TAKATANI and the collaborative ZON ITO & RYOKO AOKI.

Takatani will present two installations at West Space, incorporating video, sound, fibre optics, and light. Both are acclaimed existing works, though he will be updating Camera Lucida, an intimate piece using fibre optics to explore the micro building blocks of nature, while on residencies in Perth and Melbourne.

Ito and Aoki have worked together since 2004. Their collaborative work at West Space maps a psychedelic journey of transformation. Described as a ‘visual funhouse’, their collaborative animations explore the subconscious and physical relationships between the mind, body and the universe that bind us together.

www.rapt.jpf-sydney.org