Yuma Yanagisawa

Drawn to the glittering, fine-grained materiality and trickling effect of fine, coloured sand, the young media artist Yuma Yanagisawa transforms digitally produced particles of sand into a bewitching play of varying states, a nearly fluid birth and death of a wide range of natural and abstract forms. His grains of sand are the product of a complex computational process and a special program that, with the aid of artificial intelligence, propel the continous metamorphosis.

Initially, the sand takes the form of a sunflower possessing an almost van Goghian countenance, only to dissolve into a multitude of little swirls and wave-like movements before briefly coalescing into new flower heads. The transformation happens almost imperceptibly, magically, enchantingly. At the same time, the sand seems to be carried along by a fluid without losing any of its granular and trickling qualities. It glides and swirls, occasionally swinging from one state to the next, softly and unexpectedly transitioning into new forms and colours. The machine algorithm produces an enduring meditative creation of figurative elements.

Yuma Yanagisaw studied in Linz, Nottingham and Tokyo. He is a member of the new and young  generation of digital performative artists who explore the concept of space and the idea of immersive experiences within the analogue realm using a broad range of media. Especially his digital sand images and other linearly modulated abstract moving images bring to mind impressionist painting. Similarly, we can find referencs to modern sculpture that underscore his inclination to a timeless aesthetic.

Stephan Reisner