/home: Hiraki Sawa

Ota Fine Arts is delighted to present /home, Hiraki Sawa's first solo exhibition in 7 years. Sawa first attracted attention as an artist in 2002 with his video work dwelling, when he was doing his MFA at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London. The artwork depicted small toy airplanes flying around inside a room in an illusionistic style. Since then, Sawa has built a solid career as an artist based in London.

The title of this exhibition is derived from Sawa's latest video work /home, which was shot in 2017, 15 years after his debut. It was filmed at his parents' home after all the furniture had been removed when they were moving house. The place where he grew up in and spent his impressionable childhood remained an emotional support for Sawa even after he moved abroad. For this place to cease to exist, indicated the loss of "home" for Sawa.

/home portrays a space that retains the remnants of life in the past through the stains on wallpapers and marks left by furniture. It relives a private space where anyone could have possessed and spent time there. Having the same small airplanes flying around in that space bears a different significance to the former dwelling which triggered the spectacular start of Sawa's career. This latest work reconsiders time and space, and the memories and consciousness that arise from it - suggesting Sawa's unchanged vision as an artist as he approaches consistent themes since the start of his career.

"I thought I had a place to go back to," says Sawa. The experience of losing his parents' home led Sawa to position himself as someone born and raised in an illusory new town that began in modern times. Together with the video work, this exhibition showcases two-dimensional works based on this new town, which became a symbol of hope and illusion that society once had with regards to the idea of "home". Perhaps the era of this one form of "home" that is filled with personal and societal hope has ended. Nevertheless, we hope that this exhibition will bring about the light of the new world that has begun.