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gravicells—Gravity and Resistance

Seiko MIKAMI+Sota ICHIKAWA

  • 2004
  • Installation
  • Commissioned by YCAM
  • World Premiere
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大きなサイズで見る

Experiencing the connection between gravity and space

By constructing a virtual mechanical field in a room, this installation conveys the presence of gravity around persons inside that room.

A square field of 6 x 6 meters is set up on the floor of the exhibition venue, onto which lines are projected as if scanning the space. As soon as a visitor steps into the field, an embedded sensing mechanism instantly measures and analyzes that person's position, weight, orientation, speed and gravitational acceleration, and translates those data into distortions of the projected lines, and blinking LED and sound patterns that engulf the exhibition space. The visitor can walk freely within the installation space, and sense from the dynamically transforming light and sound the load of gravity on the body, along with the body's reacting force against it.

Sensing Mechanism

The field consists of a cell-like arrangement of a total of 225 square panels of 40 x 40 centimeters with an embedded sensing mechanism. This sensing mechanism was originally developed to detect the mass, position, orientation, gravitational acceleration and other continuous transformations of objects on the field with high precision.

GPS Satellite

In this work, GPS satellites orbiting high above the sky are additional elements that play a vital role, as the virtual attractive forces occurring between the work and GPS satellites are converted into distortions of the lines and other spatial transformations as well. Highlighted through this is the fact that the installation itself, including its visitors, exists amid the macroscopic, relative movements of such bodies as the earth and satellites.

Profiles

Seiko MIKAMI

Artist

Seiko Mikami has been showing large-scale installations themed on information society and the human body since the 1980s. In 1990s, most of works are interactive media art installations incorporating human perception, eye tracking project "molecular Informatics" at Canon ARTLAB (96), about acoustic sense and an inner body sound at ICC's permanent correction (97) , "gravicells" on the theme of the gravity called the 6th consciousness in YCAM (04). Her works have been exhibited mainly at galleries in Europe and the USA, such as Miro Museum (Spain 99), Musee des Beaux Arts de Nantes (France 2000),Kulturhuset (Sweden 06)and other museums of contemporary art. She also has exhibited works in the field of media art festivals around the world such as DEAF (Rotterdam 95,96,04), transmediale Berlin (Germany 02, 05, 07), SHARE FESTIVAL (Italy 05), Ars Electronica (Austria 05), MoiMulti Quebec (Canada 07), TESLA Berlin (Germany 07), Digital Culture Festival (UK 08). Published "Seiko Mikami Art works" at Diputacion Provincial De Malaga, Spain (04). Professor of Tama Art University.

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Sota ICHIKAWA

Architect

Has been collaborating with several artists while researching, developing and practicing methods and processes of architectural design. Launched the "Smooth Compound Eyes" project revolving around methods of spatial notation in 1995. In '97, he was involved in the realization of Knowbotic Research's "IO_DENCIES TOKYO" (Canon ARTLAB) as architecture/urban research collaborator. His collaboration with Seiko Mikami, "gravicells - gravity and resistance" (2004) has been exhibited in a total of 14 cities around the world. Established the architectural group "doubleNegatives Architecture" in 1998. Following a showcase of the "Corpora" project in the form of the "Corpora in Si(gh)te" exhibition at the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media in 2007, the work was chosen to represent Hungary at the 11th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale, and from there traveled around five cities in Europe and Mexico.

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Credit

Electric Devices: Takegahara Sekkei
Metal Craft: Sunatsuka Shoten

Exhibition

gravicells

Finished

Sunday, January 24 — Sunday, June 6, 2010

Seiko Mikami + Sota Ichikawa New Installation Exhibition

gravicells―重力と抵抗

Finished

Saturday, May 15 — Sunday, June 20, 2004

* Information in Japanese only

Tour14

November 9, 2004 — 21

DEAF04

Van Nelle Ontwerpfabriek

February 4, 2005 — 8

transmediale.05

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

February 24, 2005 — March 1, 2005

SHARE Festival 2005

Palazzo Cavour

March 10, 2005 — 20

Festival VIA 2005

Espace Sculfort

March 30, 2005 — April 9, 2005

Festival EXIT 2005

Maison des Arts de Créteil

September 1, 2005 — 19

Ars Electronica 2005

OK Center for Contemporary Art

November 23, 2005 — December 25, 2005

Possible Futures : Japanese postwar art and technology

NTT Intercommunication Center [ICC]

September 20, 2006 — October 29, 2006

O.O.H.'06

Centro de Cultura Antiguo Instituto

February 22, 2007 — March 7, 2007

Mois Multi 2007

Salle Multi et studio d'Essai

April 27, 2007 — June 27, 2007

EL MEDIO ES LA COMUNICACION

Espacio Cultural El Tanque

September 11, 2007 — December 7, 2007

Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth 2007

John Curtin Gallery

April 19, 2008 — March 8, 2009

Open Space 2008

NTT Intercommunication Center [ICC]

June 26, 2011 — August 17, 2011

translife

National Art Museum of China

September 19, 2012 — November 18, 2012

Project Daejeon 2012:Energy

Daejeon Museum of Art

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Links

Installation

120

Seiko MIKAMI's works

3

Sota ICHIKAWA's works

2

Works of 2004

28

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