Floats on the moon

aaploit presents Floating on the Moon, a solo exhibition by Uematsu Mizuki, on view from March 1 through March 31, 2024. This is Uematsu's second solo exhibition at aaploit, following the Nomura Art Prize Special Exhibition held in July 2023.

Uematsu works with iron and paper, and has presented work in diverse exhibition spaces including Terrace Mall Shonan and Shibuya PARCO.

Uematsu speaks of moments when the scene before her eyes feels distant from herself. In the final scene of François Truffaut's The 400 Blows, the boy's gaze meets the viewer's—as if one were seeing oneself through his eyes, sensing an ambiguous boundary with reality. There are times, she says, when the world she is looking at appears as if seen through a screen, like this film. Uematsu's production involves repetitive processes, as if confirming her own engagement with—or existence in—the world. In her recent paper-based work, she uses scissors, a cutter, or her hands to make fine incisions and tears, building forms from the expressions that emerge in the paper through the act of cutting.

Through extraordinary concentration, the time devoted to cutting connects to a sense of her own existence. Paper, relatively easy to obtain, is a ready-made product. To make it one's own is an act that can be understood as resistance to what Heidegger described as the exchangeable self. The time the artist has carved into the material is the time she has actually poured in—as if inscribing herself.

Products are prepared for someone. A vast, anonymous "someone"—what does that indicate? As Uematsu repeats her process, her breathing synchronizes with the work, and she senses the transformation of an object made for someone into something that is her own. Dissolving the distance from the world—Uematsu's work can be described as an act of subjectifying the other.

This exhibition explores the relationship between ready-made products and time, and seeks to examine the relative self. By dissolving the vast other through subjective action, the work reveals the emergence of a relative subject.

This exhibition presents a new series of works by Uematsu.

For inquiries regarding the exhibition and works, please contact info@aaploit.com.