Universal / Remote
March 6 (Wed), 2024 – June 3 (Mon), 2024
The National Art Center, Tokyo
https://www.nact.jp/english/
Opening Hours: 10:00-18:00 *10:00-20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays
Closed on Tuesdays
URL：https://www.nact.jp/english/exhibition_special/2024/universalremote/
Since the late 20th century, people, capital, and information came to move on a global scale. We entered a new phase in the 2010s along with the proliferation of smart devices and issues such as excessive tourism, shifting of industry’s production costs and environmental impact to developing nations, the digital divide and so forth were only worsening as the 2020s dawned. And while the outbreak of a pandemic that recognizes no borders suddenly put the brakes on the movement of people, the limitless flow of capital and information showed no sign of stopping. In fact, it seems we are seeing the true visage of capital and information systems for the first time. The rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless: imbalances in our world are becoming more explicit all the time.
The exhibition title Universal / Remote references prevailing conditions in the 21st century as capital and data flow freely on a global scale. Conveying comical aspects of the excesses of surveillance and high-tech networks, as well as the profound isolation of human beings, works in this exhibition seem to grapple head-on with the current era and with the post-COVID world. The exhibition presents the works of 8 artists and a group of 3 artists that address the state of society in the 21st century as shaped by the conditions described above, focusing on two concepts, “Constant Growth at a Pan-Global Scale” and “The Remote Individual.”
Evan Roth, Since You Were Born, 2023 Custom wallpaper, dimensions variable Collection of the artist Installation View of the MOCA Jacksonville: Since You Were Born, 2019 © Evan Roth Courtesy of the MOCA Jacksonville Photo by Doug Eng
Jeamin Cha, Chroma-key and Labyrinth, 2013 Installation view of the exhibition “Universal / Remote” The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2024 Photo by Keizo Kioku
Constant Growth at a Pan-Global Scale
Strengthening of state authority and public acceptance of surveillance systems, so as to prevent the spread of disease and curtail the flow of people across borders, have achieved results in addressing the issues at hand, but remain major points of contention for the post-COVID society of the future. One could say our sense of balance between state power and individual freedom is being tested like never before. However, capital and information are sure to continue moving around the globe with increasing rapidity and acting as relentless drivers of humanity. There have also been recent moves toward adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based NFTs (non-fungible tokens), mechanisms that enable society to function and continue expanding even when people are physically separated. This section of the exhibition features works that focus on such issues of capital and information.
Daisuke Ida Installation view of the exhibition “Universal / Remote” The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2024 Photo by Keizo Kioku
Xu Bing, Dragonfly Eyes, 2017 Installation view of the exhibition “Universal / Remote” The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2024 Photo by Keizo Kioku
Trevor Paglen, NSA-Tapped Fiber Optic Cable Landing Site, Mastic Beach, New York, United States, 2015 C-Print, 121.9×152.4 cm Collection of the artist © Trevor Paglen Courtesy of the artist, Altman Siegel, San Francisco, and Pace Gallery, New York
Giorgi Gago Gagozhidze, Hito Steyerl, Miloš Trakilović, Mission Accomplished: Belanciege, 2019 Installation view of the exhibition “Universal / Remote” The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2024 Photo by Keizo Kioku
Maiko Jinushi, A Distant Duet, 2016 HD video (40min) Collection of the artist © Maiko Jinushi Courtesy of HAGIWARA PROJECTS
The Remote Individual
Our society has continued to expand on a global scale even during a pandemic. However, strangely and paradoxically, isolation of the individual is also progressing. Today it is thoroughly commonplace for individuals to connect and reach across borders online, without leaving the comfort of their homes. The COVID crisis accelerated a paradigm shift toward the remote, and moving forward, our sense of geographic distance will surely continue to fade in the future. The figure of the worker laboring silently for the sake of a world to which he or she lacks connection, and will never see or actually visit, conveys isolation and profound loneliness, and this cannot fail to have a major impact on the human psyche. This section explores how people work and live in increasingly remote ways premised on contact-less interaction. Constant Growth at a Pan-Global Scale Strengthening of state authority and public acceptance of surveillance systems, so as to prevent the spread of disease and curtail the flow of people across borders, have achieved results in addressing the issues at hand, but remain major points of contention for the post-COVID society of the future. One could say our sense of balance between state power and individual freedom is being tested like never before. However, capital and information are sure to continue moving around the globe with increasing rapidity and acting as relentless drivers of humanity. There have also been recent moves toward adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based NFTs (non-fungible tokens), mechanisms that enable society to function and continue expanding even when people are physically separated. This section of the exhibition features works that focus on such issues of capital and information.
Tina Enghoff, Possible Relatives / Man born 1954, deceased, found in home February 14, 2003, 2004 Archival pigment print, 120×160×5cm Collection of the artist © Tina Enghoff Courtesy of the Artist
Jeamin Cha, Chroma-key and Labyrinth, 2013 Single channel HD video (color, sound, 15 min) Collection of the artist © Jeamin Cha Courtesy of the Artist
Evan Roth, Since You Were Born, 2023 Installation view of the exhibition “Universal / Remote” The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2024 Photo by Keizo Kioku
Natsuko Kiura, Sea, Park and Mountain Installation view of the exhibition “Universal / Remote” The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2024 Photo by Keizo Kioku
This exhibition is a look back, through the lens of contemporary art, at the three years of the pandemic, which abated so recently but is already fading from our collective memory day by day.
Living in these globally interconnected times, it is difficult for us to perceive distance, but spatial and geographical distances can never be negated. During the pandemic, a two-meter distance between people was mandated, this being considered far enough to prevent aerial transmission of the virus. Meanwhile, the imposition of entry restrictions and travel bans revived our awareness of the distance between countries. Slowdowns in logistics reacquainted us, the inhabitants of Earth, with the reality of the planet’s vast distances. The pandemic forced us to recognize how far apart things are, a truth unnoticed or unacknowledged by so many in advanced nations. Many of us adopted remote work, which seemed to resolve or at least mask the distances between us, and as the pandemic waned, we rapidly lost our sense of distance once more.
The title Universal / Remote was devised to encourage us not to forget the perpetually distant realities of the present day. The phrase “universal remote” originally signifies a multi-functional remote control, but dividing it with a slash disrupts the implication of “universal effectiveness” and lays bare the dual aspects of universal (i.e. global) and remote (i.e. distant, contactless). This title conveys the conviction that is vital to remain aware of the sense of distance that came to the foreground during the pandemic, as well as the unchanged reality that we are all living separate lives.
Credit
Giorgi Gago Gagozhidze, Hito Steyerl, Miloš Trakilović
Mission Accomplished: Belanciege
2019
3 channel HD video (color, sound), environment (47min 23s)
Collection of the artist
Exhibition view Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.): Hito Steyerl, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: BELANCIEGE, 2019, video installation, environment,
written and co-produced by Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze, Hito Steyerl, and Miloš Trakilović
Courtesy the artists; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin; Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York; Esther Schipper, Berlin
Photo © Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) / Jens Ziehe