“Some ways to know spring has sprung” by Ai Sugiura (Japan)

Ai Sugiura is taking part in the artists-in-residence programme at VAA Nida Art Colony. The resident has been working on the art show for two months. The exhibition “Some ways to know spring has sprung” focus on time changes and the “waiting” moment as itself. The artist says: “People may especially feel season change in spring, which could be described as it “has been waiting for spring” rather than just feel that “spring has come”. The action of “waiting” is existing often in our everyday life. Through the observation of everyday life, the artist attempted to re-recognize the time and things that are taken over from the elements included in the word “wait”. The accumulated things would remain as visible “border: traces” or become something of invisible and are inherited. Ai Sugiura collects such fragmentary images from everyday scenes and would visually and tactilely capture the “border: traces” of what is now visible and what is over it.

Ai Sugiura (b.1982) graduated from the fine art department of Musashino art university in Tokyo in 2007. Her work is mainly an assemblage of everyday materials, found objects and images in daily life. Through works, she reconsiders and reconstructs once more those familiar sights and things from different viewpoints, to see if she can find any possibilities to create something new from such sights and things. Furthermore, she tries to create new sights or new relationships by capturing those familiar matters as “forms” and “colors” as well as the original meanings and functions. Among other places, she has shown her works in Japan, China, Taiwan, U.S.A. Lives and works in Tokyo.

The project is supported by Arts Council Tokyo and VAA Nida art colony.