Ryōji Ikeda Exhibition Report
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Amos Rex
The museum characterizes itself as a juncture where the past, present, and future converge. On this occasion, the role of mediator is assumed by Japanese Master Ryoji Ikeda.
The setting is an urban underworld-a dark cavern populated by cosmic elements, light, and sounds we wouldn't typically hear in space. Here, these elements coalesce in a chthonic fusion, offering visitors the opportunity to pause and experience them without the need for protective barriers.
Every visit to this space evokes a sense of the sacred, a temple dedicated to art, and this perception endures. People of all ages are drawn here, standing in awe before cosmic wonders that are accessible regardless of one's personal worldview.
As one is enveloped by the strobe lights, it feels as if a black hole is about to engulf the entire space-an occurrence that isn't particularly troubling. After all, we are but stardust, and the span of our lives is scarcely longer than a shooting star. The universe is indifferent; any potential apocalypse is not a personal vendetta.
Standing before Ikeda's works and later gazing at the night sky, one is struck by a naïve imagery that humans have crafted to draw nearer to God, while anthropomorphizing the Absolute in their own image. It's plausible that such Energy is either so invisible or foreign in form that we would fail to recognize it even if encountered. We might find ourselves terrified in the clutches of raw natural forces, unaware that we are in the embrace of the Numinous. Can we then assert that we have or have not seen God?
The exhibition continues until 25.2.2024 at the Amos Rex Art Museum.