CASHI

left: Ayako MIWA “no title”(installation view) 2013, photo by Ai NAKAGAWA
right: Satoshi MIYATA “Rain Leak” 2011, H1800xW900mm, iron

“Regular expression”
Sat. 7 March – Sun. 26 April 2015
Artist: Satoshi MIYATA, Ayako MIWA
Reception party :Sat. 7 March 18:00-20:00

First half of exhibition: from the 7th (Sat.) to the 29th (Sun.) of March
Second half: from the 2nd (Thur.) to the 26th (Sun.) of April

Cashi Gallery is proud to announce a new exhibition featuring two artists, Satoshi Miyata and Ayako Miwa, from the 7th of March to the 26th of April.

Miyata mostly produces installations and one dimensional art using items found around the home such as masking tape, wastepaper, and heat-sensitive paper, as well as concrete blocks and iron. He is able to express concepts such as ‘erosion and transformation,’ ‘the existence of the unseen,’ and ‘dissipation’ as a consistent theme in his personal quest against substances and materials. He shows the real world to be perfectly simple in his work which has encapsulated decaying figures and the transformation of substance.

Miwa produces objects and installations using so called cleaning substances, mortar, and various wood materials. Her artwork includes many pieces which are reminiscent of ‘post Mono-ha’ in both size and shape, in recent years she has exhibited her artwork made from the cleaning detergent ‘Blue Dia’ at the “KITAKAGAYA CROSSING 2013: MOBILIS IN MOBILI – Crossing Today” Her work is characterized by an overwhelming sense of substance which appeals to all five senses above that of just vision. In 2008 she configured wood and thread into a full booth with restricted space for the annual “GEISAI#11” art event, and she won the superb Mark Olivier Waller Award. This year in 2015 she has entered into the Gunma Youth Biennale hosted by the Museum of Modern Art in Gunma. This exhibition brings together new and old work, presented by changing part of the installation in-between the first half and second half of the exhibition.

Its title is ‘Regular Expression,’ which comes from programming language, or to put it simply ‘it is a method of notation by which multiple strings become one.’
This notation system is used when one wishes to search or replace in a particular string of data, notating a combination of symbols which carry a special meaning and are called meta characters and normal characters. The strings of data are not directly designated according to this combination, in order to be able to designate the pattern of the string one can perform a search which absorbs the oscillation of the notation. This allows one to bundle together to replace or search a multiple variant of strings that are ordered by fixed data such as email addresses and telephone numbers. The beginning of Regular Expression came from the 1940s when neurophysiologists were researching into how the human nervous system functions. In 1956 a mathematician called Stephen Cole Kleene wrote an academic paper called ‘Representation of Events in Nerve Nets,’ this introduced the concept of Regular Expression for the first time. The present day use of the expression of Regular Expression can be traced back to this paper and the explanation of ‘the algebra of regular sets.’ Today it is implemented in a wide range of software, and remains a vital part of text based editing and search rules.

Besides people involved in coding, there are more than a few people who use Regular Expression in spreadsheet software such as text editing and Excel. In the encapsulated multiple rules within the inscrutable strings, it is like works of art that have been encapsulated in the beautiful rules on which the appellation of Regular Expression is interdependent on. This work of art is the result of restructuring through the selection of programs that apply the beautiful rules known as ‘artists’ to a variety of materials that are wholly from both the inside and outside of this world. In particular within the area of the installation there are a wide range of elements that can become any kind of art; it is a difficult, yet interesting area.

One has to wonder what is ‘regular expression’ in contemporary art. We know that this is not easily answered, but it can be said that these two artists, that we wish to introduce from our gallery, are conscious of their choice of the word ‘expression,’ and have assumed responsibility with their artwork “Regular Expression” which is one answer to the question.

We will be joined by the artists at a reception to be held on the 7th of March. We look forward to welcoming you to our gallery and introducing you to our thoughts about this ‘Regular’ installation.

[References]
Yuya MAEDA “For the Continual Encounter with the New” “KITAKAGAYA CROSSING 2013: MOBILIS IN MOBILI – Crossing Today” Kitakagaya Crossing Organizing Committee, 2014, pp.092-094
Wikipedia: Regular expression
Wikipedia: Stephen Cole Kleene

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