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From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A blue, dome-like structure which has been separated by wire into segments, hangs from the ceiling. In the background, a screen shows a picture of an orange camera.

Hiraki Sawa

Lenticular

05 October 2013 - 05 January 2014

Discover the work of Hiraki Sawa whose videos and animations create a strange world in which familiar objects perform unbelievable, beautiful acts. In Lenticular everyday items do fantastic things: toy aeroplanes take off into domestic flight paths, vinyl records unravel and clocks and teapots grow legs.

From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows A model of a tiny living room sits on a grassy cliff edge, with the sea in the background.

For his exhibition at DCA, Sawa has created a new film shot at Dundee's Mills Observatory. The work was inspired by the self-taught astronomer who is employed by the Observatory, who shared his knowledge of the solar system and the stars beyond with the artist. This newly commissioned work is a loose portrait of the astronomer and the planetarium itself.

Lineament (2012) is a work that raises questions about memory, fiction and reality. Based on the experiences of a friend who suffered from amnesia, in this video the motif of an unravelling vinyl record captures the uncertainty of remembered experience. The work is accompanied by a score, composed by Dale Berning and Ute Kanngiesser, which has been pressed onto vinyl and is played in the Gallery.

The exhibition will also include Sawa’s earlier animation Unseen Park (2006) which was made with the assistance of nine Taiwanese children who imagined being transported by make believe vehicles. The resultant animation is accompanied by a music box soundtrack.

From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows a warm, pale pink light.

Hiraki Sawa was born in 1977 in Ishikawa, Japan and lives and works in London. He studied Sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art (MFA) and Fine Art at the University of East London (BA). Significant exhibitions of Sawa's work have been presented at Chisenhale Gallery, London; Kresge Art Museum, Michigan; and the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art.

Lenticular has been programmed in partnership with Discovery Film Festival, Scotland’s International Film Festival for Young Audiences. Held annually at DCA, the festival brings you the best in international film for children and young people.

Lenticular is presented in association with Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery.  The exhibition was kindly supported by the DAIWA Anglo-Japanese Foundation. All work courtesy of the artist and James Cohan Gallery, New York.

Hiraki Sawa: Exhibition Notes

Click here to download the Exhibition Notes for Hiraki Sawa: Lenticular
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Exhibition images

From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A record player with a glass case its on a plinth in the middle of DCA Galleries. Two projection screens show image - one of a man holding a record up to his ear, the other of a bathroom sink.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows an image of a miniature train made out of cardboard in a sand-pit. A miniature dining table with chairs and a fireplace also sits in the background of the sandpit.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. The inside of a blue, dome-like structure.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows A model of a tiny living room sits on a grassy cliff edge, with the sea in the background.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows a warm, pale pink light.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A blue, dome-like structure which has been separated by wire into segments, hangs from the ceiling. In the background, a screen shows a picture of an orange camera.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A record player with a glass case its on a plinth in the middle of DCA Galleries. Two projection screens show image - one of a man holding a record up to his ear, the other of a bathroom sink.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows an image of a miniature train made out of cardboard in a sand-pit. A miniature dining table with chairs and a fireplace also sits in the background of the sandpit.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. The inside of a blue, dome-like structure.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows A model of a tiny living room sits on a grassy cliff edge, with the sea in the background.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows a warm, pale pink light.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A blue, dome-like structure which has been separated by wire into segments, hangs from the ceiling. In the background, a screen shows a picture of an orange camera.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A record player with a glass case its on a plinth in the middle of DCA Galleries. Two projection screens show image - one of a man holding a record up to his ear, the other of a bathroom sink.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows an image of a miniature train made out of cardboard in a sand-pit. A miniature dining table with chairs and a fireplace also sits in the background of the sandpit.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. The inside of a blue, dome-like structure.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows A model of a tiny living room sits on a grassy cliff edge, with the sea in the background.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A screen shows a warm, pale pink light.
From Hiraki Sawa's exhibition. A blue, dome-like structure which has been separated by wire into segments, hangs from the ceiling. In the background, a screen shows a picture of an orange camera.