“Nurturing Nodes in the Nook of an Odd Sock” presents an international exhibition and global networking project, curated by artist-curator Yutaka Inagawa. This exhibition showcases 19 artists, each chosen through a distinctive curatorial approach. These artists originate from a broad spectrum of countries and regions—namely the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, China, Colombia, Germany, and Japan—and are actively engaged in various locales globally.
In an experimental quest, the exhibition seeks to dismantle and reconfigure the familiar architecture of exhibition-making. Infused with Inagawa’s artistic perspectives and multi-axial structures, the project aspires to cultivate an unconventional exhibition environment. This “manipulative” curation not only rearranges environmental, behavioral, and contextual dynamics surrounding artworks but also acts as a conduit for various reactions, including the artists’ endorsement, material resonance, and configurational interconnectedness. This initiative is envisioned as a collective endeavor to navigate beyond the existing boundaries of societal frameworks.
Throughout the exhibition, a series of talk sessions and workshops will be conducted to delve into the experimental potential and the formation of a cross-boundary community. The goal is to foster a fluid, multi-layered network that extends beyond mere singular points of connection.
CURATORIAL STATEMENT
“Nurturing Nodes in the Nook of an Odd Sock” emerges from the roots of “Floating Urban Slime/Sublime” (2017), an experimental nesting architecture that engaged with the creative voices of a diverse range of contemporary practitioners. Now, seven years later, “Nurturing Nodes in the Nook of an Odd Sock” springs into existence at Art Gallery Miyauchi, injecting fresh vitality into this enduring exploration.
Weaponized golf balls nestled in an odd sock become a metaphor for behavioral patterns of individuals, warped by internalized, irrational power structures. This narrative emerged glaringly in the infamous “Big Motor Incident” of 2023, where a prominent second-hand car dealer manipulated their own vehicles using such a cryptic weapon for insurance fraud. The sound of “Golf balls” in an “odd sock”, “reshaping the surface of the car”, dips into an illogical yet fascinating creative realm. However, to interpret in this manner, we must extricate these creative insights from the quagmire of wrongdoing and societal evil.
In a similar vein, this project draws upon the potential of rhizomatic architectures inherent in art fair designs and reimagines the dynamics of curated group exhibitions. It navigates the intricate interplay of artworks, artists, and the spatial dynamics of the gallery. The ensuing dance unfolds a multifaceted panorama of ontological realities and embedded intentions. Yet, “Nurturing Nodes in the Nook of an Odd Sock” rejects the pursuit of a central focal point, choosing instead to disrupt the balance typically preserved by hosting systems. This provokes a sense of creative conflict that is paradoxical in nature. Foregoing the stabilizing function of the template, the exhibition intentionally invites volatility and variability, echoing the ever-changing nature of slime.
The broad spectrum of mediums—painting as a QR code that creates an alternate reality, film and moving image as physical territorial trespassers, the vulnerability of photography to digital/AI forces, performance as ritualistic inhuman embodiment, and sculptures and installations teetering on the boundary between the tangible material reality and intangible cognitive configurations—all precariously straddle the brink of chaos, contributing to an ever-evolving artistic environment.
When the roles of artist and curator intertwine, a dynamic and erratic landscape unfurls, mirroring the rhizomatic interconnections between representations of art and their hosting systems. This landscape becomes a dazzling, cacophonous playground brimming with co-existence, multi-layered dialogues, and bewildering, yet enticing logic. A new sense of abstraction isn’t a product of solitary achievement but emerges from the complex web of relationships and juxtapositions that birth enigma. These evolving dynamics radiate energies that modulate audience interaction and understanding. The entire landscape, in all its complexity and splendor, serves not just as a showcase, but as a pulsating epicenter of creativity, a fertile ground birthing new artistic uncertainties and abstractions.
“Nurturing Nodes in the Nook of an Odd Sock” is a bold, whimsical declaration, a hosting ground as versatile and capricious as slime. It’s an imaginative exercise, conjuring new uncertainties, carving out abstract landscapes, capturing and navigating the paradoxes amidst the entangled egos of artists, curators, and artworks.