RYOJI IKEDA
Almine Rech Brussels presents the artist Ryoji Ikeda. This ever-evolving exhibition, the culmination of over two decades of tireless research and technical prowess, merges art, music, and science into a cornucopia of light and sound, inviting viewers on a journey from the infinitesimal to the infinite.
June 6 - July 27, 2024
Born in 1966 in Gifu, Japan, and currently based in Paris, Ikeda is a pioneer in fusing art, music, and technology. Throughout his career, he has used creative coding to develop an audiovisual language exploring "an aesthetics of data, information, and computer science." Known for his hypnotic audiovisual installations and glitch music, Ikeda composes using sine tones, noise, and basses equipped with mathematical formulas.
To create his tour-de-force trilogy, Ikeda worked with the data sets provided by renowned institutions such as CERN, NASA, and the Human Genome Project. The information from these institutions forms the raw material of the data-driven multilayered environment he presents.
Ikeda masterfully manages vast scientific data to compose these works, creating a choreographed, stunning visual and auditory experience. A medley of bright lights, visceral patterns, and calming acoustics interplay reveals how Ikeda’s relentless audiovisual works evoke digital media's opacity and totalitarian grip on our lives. His artistry delves into the visual language of data mapping, spanning from the atomic to the cosmic scale, as seen in his looped, 48-second films.
This aligns with non-Western philosophies that emphasize harmony with nature. As Timothy Morton explains, hyperobjects are “things that are massively distributed in time and space relative to humans,” a concept paralleling Ikeda's exploration of vast data sets and the cosmic scale. Yuk Hui's philosophy of cosmo-technics—how different cultures integrate their cosmologies with technological practices—also deeply resonates with Ikeda's work.
Ikeda's symphonies of data are not just aesthetic experiences but philosophical inquiries that ask us to reconsider our relationship with the technologies we create and the data we generate. His art transcends Western technological determinism, embracing a holistic worldview that acknowledges all entities' interdependence.
Visiting Ryoji Ikeda's exhibition at Almine Rech Brussels offers not just a visual experience but a transformative journey. It invites viewers to discover the complex beauty of often invisible data and feel the profound connection between the microscopic and the macroscopic.