MAKI Gallery is pleased to announce SWEET HORIZON ～甘美なる水平線～ a solo exhibition by Kugenuma, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa based artist baanai. This exhibition marks baanai's second appearance of the past two years in our Tennoz gallery. Since 2017, baanai has continued his artistic practice of filling canvases with the word 'ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU' (translating to 'Thank you' in Japanese) layer upon layer. This exhibition showcases two new series, SWELL / RECONSTRUCTION and HARMONY, which are produced building on his continuing practice.

Both new series employ collage as a new method of incorporating part of the artist's personal history into the works, whilst also adding to the evolution of his lifelong pursuit of multilayered expressions. This new approach is based on baanai's ongoing attempt to transform letters (words) into affects, invisible vibrations, and emitted feelings.

The SWELL / RECONSTRUCTION series is made up of artworks created through the process of repurposing paintings from baanai's past collections. Dismantled by being cut into strips, the paintings are then reconstructed as a collage over canvases on whose surface the word 'ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU' had been repeatedly painted. The layered images are inspired by the swell of a wave that appears in tiers from the sea as if wishing to announce the arrival of something.

The narrow fragments are detached from their original time and context, and the words lose their fixed meaning and become possibilities for new connections to be made. Fragments, bumps, and more pieces made of cardboard are put together on canvases, generating a sense of dynamic motion from their three-dimensional texture, resembling geological layers, architectural structures, and the passage of time. The works constantly throw something new at the viewer, much like the ocean's ceaseless flow of waves.

The HARMONY series employs larger cut-outs from a collection of international surf magazines, collected by the artist over the past 30 years, to create a collage on which the word 'ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU' is then recurrently painted over the entirety of the surface, with each letter rendered in a different colour scheme. The images of waves, portrayed in cut-outs, express the artist's idea of invisible vibrations. By using magazines, which have been with him for a long time, baanai intends to incorporate an autobiographical texture of time onto the works. When encountering pieces crafted in this manner, a blend of diverse colours, imagery, and text induces disorientation, prompting the viewer to embark on a journey beyond the confines of time and space.

In both series showcased in this exhibition, a vibrant array of colours and a variety of materials convey strength and intensity, while also emanating a contemplative impression reminiscent of the quiet, undulating waves that may have arisen as the artist diligently confronted his work and personal history. This characteristic might arise from the hidden layers of 'ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU', concealed behind the layer of collage, reaching us only in conceptual form.

baanai has for years regarded his artistic practice as an "experiment to explore the truth of the universe". For the artist, 'ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU' is not just a word of gratitude, but also a mantra that expresses reverence for something so unbelievably precious and miraculous. "By depicting this word countless times, the world may someday change as if a key unlocking something. Wouldn't that be interesting?" Such sentiments propel the artist towards a grand experiment.

For the exhibition of his new work, baanai has chosen the title SWEET HORIZON ～甘美なる水平線～. This title embodies the artist's strong conviction and desire to believe in the beauty of the world, affirming oneself captivated by the horizon without being swayed by whatever may come. Please take this opportunity to experience a multitude of new works filled with potential for further evolution in baanai's past, present, and future as an artist.

Press Release: text by Haruna Takeda