This artwork was made in the mid-’90s, around when the internet first emerged. It concerns the nature of interaction with images in digital media. It is also an experimental device for considering the pros and cons of the question, “Will computers take over the role of books?”

Reading a book is a series of acts of capturing the meaning of text consisting of a string of characters and then interacting with them in the brain. A framework of knowledge and experiences must be prepared for this act. In parallel, such interactions accumulate as experiences. However, prior to this there is experience through direct interaction with the environment, which gives birth to new language. This is the work of a poet.

This artwork aims to recreate the poet’s working space in a different medium, as an interaction with pre-textual images. The environment of the installation is not the same as the real world; it is limited to the gallery space, where an uncommon interface is implemented. The work therefore provides a unique experience: the observation of the birth of meaning.（F.M.）

Migration Direction: FUJIHATA Masaki, KAWASHIMA Takafumi, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Selected for the FY2021 Culture and Arts Promotion Subsidy Program: Media Arts Archive Promotion Support Project