Review: Jason Doizé’s Hikikomori
Posted by: Lisa Radon on Oct 31, 2009 at 02:00PM
4 Comments
Jason Doizé. Hikikomori.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Jason Doizé. Hikikomori.
Jason Doizé’s Hikikomori at FalseFront is poignant narrative captured in an elegantly minimalist installation. On a wall text, one of Japan’s young shut-ins or hikikomori explains that years of torment by fellow students drove him to seek refuge in his room. The outside world is represented by white paper leaves blown into corners of the room, the hikikomori’s space behind a wall by a a white blanket folded on a low palette, votives, and a set of earphones on a high shelf playing the sounds of Japanese game shows. Bridging these monochromatic elements are three rows of dozens of identical drawings on yellow lined paper of outlines of potential boxes (cut here, score here, fold). The boxes are a smart stroke, their cool geometry providing the distance that prevents pathos from descending into bathos. The work makes a delicate balance between implicating the viewer in the hikikomori’s plight via the wall text and inviting consideration of the very few folds it would take to join him.
Lisa, it was a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I enjoyed our conversation. For those interested in viewing Hikikomori we’ll have the space open everyday from 12-4PM until the closing date, Nov. 6. I also snapped some quick photos of the show which are up on our website. http://falsefrontstudio.com/FalseFront/Photos.html
Jason! Good to meet you too, and I’m glad you took photos. No one will ever mistake this writer for a photographer! ha ha.
Quite a show! I love the story and the repetetive sequence of the box drawings is somehow ‘soothing’ to me for some reason. How was the show received?
how neat is that? you make me proud.