Metropolis Japan

Himotoku: The Opening Blossoms of an Unraveling World

Aug 27, 2022 at 11:00am ~ Oct 10, 2022 at 7:00pm

Ever since it first opened in 2001, TOKAS has continued to collaborate with international artists, curators, arts centers, and cultural organizations to produce exhibitions and pioneer related programs which began in 2018, aims to shine a contemplative light on the arts, society, and various other themes from a multicultural perspective. Exhibition,

TOKAS and Taipei Artist Village (TAV) have been operating a two-way residency program that invites and sends creators to and from Japan and Taiwan since 2007, and this year marks the program’s 15th anniversary. As of this year a total of 29 artists have participated in the program, producing works in both Japan and Taiwan.

The Japanese word himotoku (lit. “to unravel”) can signify opening and reading a book, and connects to the process of coming into contact with knowledge through printed matter, looking back on history, and revealing truths. The word also represents an image of a bud opening and bursting into bloom. The five artists featured in this exhibition spent time in Tokyo and Taipei reflecting on regional history, meeting people, and discovering new aspects of the city where they stayed. Connecting these encounters to the production of art has been a process of evolution toward new creative horizons and the disentanglement of a complex world, like a tightly closed bud beginning to open.
We sincerely hope that this collaboration between TOKAS and TAV, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary, will continue to bring about the blooming of many flowers in the future.