A.A.Murakami: Floating World

EVENT DESCRIPTION

A.A.Murakami (est. 2011) is a Tokyo- and London-based artist duo formed by Alexander Groves (b. 1983) and Azusa Murakami (b. 1984). Their multidisciplinary practice straddles the spheres of sculpture, installation, cinema, and digital art, creating experiences that augment their science-based inquiries with moments of daring and spectacle.

A.A.Murakami: Floating World features two large-scale interlinked immersive installations by Tokyo- and London-based artist duo A.A.Murakami. The exhibition invites visitors to explore the interplay between the physical and digital realms through an otherworldly experience. Floating World refers to ukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese art from the 1600s to 1800s that blurred fantasy and reality to create scenes of beauty, poetry, and otherworldliness. A.A.Murakami’s interpretation begins with Beyond the Horizon (2024), a multisensory work in which floating iridescent bubbles burst into clouds. The bubbles are a metaphor for the transience of life, while clouds are often an auspicious and divine symbol in Asian art. In The Passage of Ra (2024), physical fog rings hurtle towards an undulating digital seascape. As the rings touch the screen’s surface, they transit into this simulated space and continue their journey virtually, unshackled from their physical constraints. 

The presentation at M+ further develops the duo’s pioneering concept of ‘Ephemeral Tech’, in which innovative technological research is used to reimagine primordial origins and to speculate possible future scenarios. 

Coinciding with the presentation of A.A.Murakami: Floating World, the artist duo will be in conversation with Ikko Yokoyama, Lead Curator, Design and Architecture, M+ and Sunny Cheung, Curator, Design and Architecture, M+ in a free public talk from 14:00 to 15:30 on Saturday, 31 August 2024 to discuss the creation of this exhibition. The artists will share their views on how technology has blurred our perception of what is virtual and what is real. The opening talk will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in Cantonese. 

During the exhibition period, M+ will offer guided meditation workshops on Saturdays, 19 October, 16 November and 21 December 2024, to encourage mindful and slow looking and for the audience to connect and appreciate more deeply with the works of art.