Rie Tachikawa Interview Full «2K • 8K»
Exactly. Because real dust is random. Recreated dust is a memory of time passing. In my 2024 piece Hazy Protocol , I used a feather duster to trace the path of an imaginary housekeeper from 1932. The dust lines on the floor were not swept away—they were drawn back in . The audience walks on the dust. They become the housekeeper. They complete the loop.
But doesn't that limit your audience?
And if no one comes?
No. I am a questioner . A story gives answers. I give clues to a mystery that doesn't exist. Part 2: The Full Philosophy of "Ma" I: Western critics often frame your work through the lens of "Minimalism"—Judd, Flavin. But you reject that. Why?
You vacuum away the real dust only to recreate it on the gallery wall? rie tachikawa interview full
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(She picks up a glass of water from the table). This glass is half full. An optimist says it is half full. A pessimist says it is half empty. I say: Look at the space above the water, where the air lives. That space is filled with potential. In a gallery, people rush to the object. I want them to rush to the shadow behind the object. I learned this from kintsugi —the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. Everyone stares at the gold vein. But the gold is just the map. The true story is the break itself. The moment of dropping. The gasp. That is where the life is. Part 3: The Creative Process – "Controlled Neglect" I: Let’s talk about process. Your installations often look... precarious. Broken. Dusty. Is that aesthetic intentional? Exactly
Because a photograph of my work is the death of my work. My pieces change with the humidity, the time of day, the number of people in the room. A digital file is fixed. It is a corpse. I want my art to be a rumor. You hear about it from a friend. You walk three kilometers to a warehouse. You sign a waiver. You enter a room alone. That journey—the search —is part of the piece.