An installation that brings to life abstract, idealized animation—something that would normally seem possible only through CG or stop-motion—in the real world. Boxes (squares) arranged on a stage move, roll, and sometimes cooperate as they change formation, passing through openings in an approaching series of barriers. The mechanism that controls the squares is not based on existing technology, but was developed from scratch to realize this work. Presented in 2021 at the special exhibition “Rules?” at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT. Through two types of installations, it conveys without words the sense of pleasure and the sense of fear that can come from following rules.

This is a documentary video of Masaya Ishikawa’s first solo exhibition, “Layers of Light,” held from Monday, February 8 to Sunday, February 21, 2021. Working as a graphic designer and visual expression researcher, Ishikawa developed an original three-dimensional image device in 2020 using the principles of light wavelengths. At the same time, as an artist, he has been creating works that explore new forms of expression by making the most of the device’s characteristics and constraints. With this new medium, which comes with significant limitations—“up to three layers” and “the color of each layer is fixed”—he has applied insights from cognitive science and animation to uncover several rich veins of expression and turn them into works of art. These are sculptural forms and animations made of light, with a vivid sense of three-dimensionality that can only truly be experienced by seeing them in person. This recording was made in the hope of conveying even a little of that texture.