Takahito Irie
1984 Born in Hiroshima , Japan
2007 Exchanged to Hong-Ik University , Seoul , Korea
2009 Graduated from Tama Art University , Tokyo , Japan
Solo Exhibitions
2013 “influence”, AREBYTE, London ,UK
2013 “VISION”, ALEE Space , Seoul , Korea
2011 “H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E”, PLATOON KUNSTHALLE , Seoul , Korea
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013 “Red Never Follows from HUGO”, Saatchi Gallery , London , UK
2012 “Beautiful Star”, Beyond Museum , Seoul , Korea
2012 “Now Asia Contemporary Art”, Uijeongbu Arts Center , Gyonggido , Korea
2011 “4D LIVE PARK-D’strict”, KINTEX , Ilsan , Korea
2011 “ECO”, Muan Seunwoo Oh Art of Museum , Muan , Korea
2011 “Young Artists Project 2011”, EXCO , Daegu , Korea
2011 “B.Y.B.O. (Bring Your Own Beamer)”, Gallery LVS , Seoul , Korea
2010 “Artist in Residence”, Daegu Culture and Arts Center , Daegu , Korea
2009 “HEART and SOUL”, Ku Art Center , Beijing , China
2009 “PAPER AIRPLANES”, Hiroshima MOCA , Hiroshima , Japan
2008 “MOVE-MENT”, ZERO Field 798, Beijing, China
2008 “A.I.R.”, Galerie Eigenheim , Weimar , Germany
Art Fair
2013 “ASYAAF”, Seoul , Korea
2011 “ASYAAF”, Seoul , Korea
“ART BEIJING”, Beijing , China
Awards
2000 “13th KOIZUMI International Lighting Design Competition for Students”, KOIZUMI Award
1999 “12th KOIZUMI International Lighting Design Competition for Students”, Silver Prize
Collaboration Works
2013 “HUGO”, Fashion Brand , Global Brand Campaign
2012 “belief”, Cosmetic Brand , Artist Collaboration Campaign
Collection
Songwon Art Center
PLATOON KUNSTHALL
WOORIDUL LIFE SIENCE
Experiences
2011 Artist in Residence(6 month) , PLATOON KUNSTHALLE , Seoul , Korea
2010 Artist in Residence(3 month) , Gachang Art Studio , Daegu , Korea
2009 Artist in Residence(6 month) , Ku Art Center , Beijing , China
influence | H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E
Takahito is a multidisciplinary artist working in myriad mediums including video, photography, digital illustration, performance and installation.
H/U/M/A/N/M/A/C/H/I/N/E explores the implications of technology on consciousness and the human body; the change in the relationship between man and machine over time and the point at which they blur and shape one another. Within his work, Takahito inhabits the role of creator, breeding and presenting his Cyborg tribe.
Combining aesthetics drawn from Japanese culture with pseudo African ceremonial- like rituals, Takahito plays on the notion of authentic and fantasy, archaic and futuristic. He paints onto the skin of human beings as if initiating them into the new world he envisions, rather like Japanese Gundam robots*.
Takahito describes the art making process in H/U/M/A/N/M/A/C/H/I/N/E as a place where his models seem to “lose their identity and change”. The results are a series of digital images, documenting the outcome of the “ritual” initiated by Takahito and his subjects through his work.
* The Gundam Series is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots (or “mecha”) called “Mobile Suits” (MS); usually the protagonist’s MS will carry the name Gundam.
Written By Director of Arbeit Gallery, Nimrod Vardi , 2013
Behind H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E
What do humanity, technology, art and utopia have in common? They are all elements of Takahito Irie’s “Human Machine” and his vision of a changing world.
The first thing Taka told me that really sticks out in my mind was, “I want to create beauty out of chaos.” This is appropriate when I think about who he is and what his art represents.
Taka’s vision of a greater society began as a child growing up in Hiroshima, Japan. Every year, people would come from other countries to reflect on the bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War II and the consequences of that event on future generations.
When Taka was young, his parents would take people in to “home stay” during this ceremony and at around the age of 10, he started to feel an odd kinship with those traveling strangers. “At that point, I stopped thinking about nationalism and just saw human,” states Taka.
Human Machine represents humanity’s relationship with technology and our ability or inability to control it. “People are addicted to more and better technology,” says Taka. ”This is changing the way we interact with ourselves, each other and our environment. Whether we like it or not, Utopia or Distopia will be realized and it’s up to us to determine how we fit into this new society.”
Human Machine links all peoples and elements into a growing community where we learn from one another and shape each other’s identity. “I don’t want to just share my vision with the world, but I want to embrace the thoughts and dreams of others as well,” says Taka. “It’s very intimate and very personal. It’s an interactive relationship between the artist and models; those who buy and those who sell; the audience and the paint itself.”
In addition to his family upbringing, Taka’s artistic style and voice is heavily influenced by traditional Asian culture and its expression in modern and post modern conceptual interpretation. “Asian history, science fiction and animation have always intrigued me,” says Taka. “Human Machine, The rise of Post Western Orientalism and Utopia are themes that I want to explore, develop and share.”
So where is all of this leading? Post human, demi-human, trans-human – utopian frontier? Therein lays the mystery and opportunity. Human Machine is just the beginning; where all of us have a chance to contribute to this brave new world. “I see myself as an artist whose work is part of a greater design,” says Taka. As a friend an admirer of Taka’s work, I am looking forward to his developing story and creative designs.
An Interview with Takahito Irie
By: Robin Garrett
August 2012
VISION | One step ahead H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E
Post-Orientalism
경제 성장과 문화 발전의 속도가 나날이 가속화되는 아시아의 미래에 대해 구상한다는 것은 과거의 편견과 역사로부터 탈출을 도모하는 행위이다. 그리고 그러한 발전에 의한 동양국가들의 국제 무대 내 입지 향상은 서양의 오래된 주권으로부터 벗어나는 행위로 해석할 수 있다.
근대까지의 세계사는 서양의 관점에서 바라본 문화성장과 경제발전의 역사였다. 그러나 글로벌리즘 (globalism)의 시대에서 세계경제가 결국 침체하게 되었고, 국제교류의 중심이 급속도로 변화하며 생산력과 자연 자원력 중심의 경제 흐름이 전환되어가는 추세이다. 이러한 자원이 자연자원이 아니고 인적자원이 되어가고 있는 현재, 아시아의 인적 생산력이 돋보이고 신흥국으로써의 경제력과 가속도로 하여금 서양적 사상 속에서 태어난 아시아에 대한 편견과 역사―오리엔탈리즘(Orientalism)으로부터 탈각을 목격할 수 있다. 아시아가 제국주의적 콤플렉스로부터 해방되고 고유의 매력을 자립적으로 타 국가들에게 알릴 수 있는 능력을 획득하였을 때, 문화력을 지력・재력으로 전환하고 있는 것은 사실이다.
아시아가 자기발전력을 손에 넣었을 때, 기존의 서양중심적인 가치는 뒤집히고 새로운 생활 양식, 혹은 보다 동양 고유의 모습을 간파할 수 있다.
경제발전과 문화적 수준의 차이로부터 아시아는 근대 이후 콤플렉스를 안고 있지만 IT혁명과 2007년의 세계경제위기 후 세계경제・문화중심이 분산되는 가운데, 아시아 신흥국에서의 경제발전과 문화추진력의 증폭에 의해 서양문화 틀로부터의 탈각, 얽매이지 않는 문화성장과 문화발신이 가능해졌다.
아시아로 국제 경제의 중심이 이행함으로써 아시아 문화는 단순히 민족주의적 정체성이 아닌 더욱 범위가 확장된 자유로운 표현이 가능해졌다. Post-Orientalism은 기존의 틀에 얽매인 동방취향(東方趣向)이 아닌 본래 우리가 지니고 있는 정체성을 세계에 주장하는 것이며, 유럽・미국의 기존의 사회구조에 기반한 수동적 문화·경제 활동으로부터 능동적 문화·경제 활동에 이행하는 사회풍조를 강조한다. 또, 서양에 대한 열등감과 과잉평가의 상실, 개개인으로서 공평적 평가, 콤플렉스로부터 벗어나는 자태를 뜻하고 있다.
ANOTHER H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E
BEAUTIFUL WORLD
POST-ORIENTALISMから導かれるUTOPIAへの道筋をたどる
UTOPIA思想から見えるPOST-ORIENTALISM
人類の文化思想で築かれた経験的・歴史的世界は、グローバルなモデルとしユートピアの価値を問題化し、やっかいな事に、ユートピア的形式がそもそも最初から回避する事を約束したその実践的な政治的創設という問題に、私たちの焦点をあらためて合わせる役割を果たして来た。ユートピアが地理的な遠隔地ではなく、時間的な未来に置かれる場合、こうした（経験的・歴史的な問題が、政治的な問題として処理される事）矛盾は明らかに緩和されるが、結局のところ今日では、ポストモダニズムの指針に従った空間形成（リアリズム）が重要視される。
未来軸に入れられたユートピアの社会構成はアジア的生産様式を表すものが多く、長江文明により、稲作により共存型社会集団を形成し、アジアの生活基盤、社会基盤が築かれる。稲作による社会形成により、天候・自然の脅威に多く左右される事で、祭祀などの行事が誕生し、自然界と人間界を取り持つ思想が発展した。このように、アジアの生活基盤が、ユートピア的社会形成に多くの共通点を見て取れる事は、”コミュニティーに依存した集団生活”・”西洋的な神の排除（未来的時間軸の中では、テクノロジーの発展による）と自然の共存”という事から、見て取れる。
西洋主導で築かれた、近代までの世界構造は、西洋からの文化成長と経済発展の歴史でもあった。しかし、世界経済の低迷と国際中心が急速に変わるグローバリズムの時代を迎え、生産力と自然力だけの経済構造ではなくなった。このような資源が、自然資源ではなく、人徳資源となりつつある現代、アジアの人的生産力も伴い、新興国の経済力と加速度を持って、過去の西洋的思想の中で生まれたアジアの偏見と歴史ーオリエンタリズムから脱却を計っている。アジア諸国が、コンプレックスからの解放と、その国自身の魅力を自らの力を持って他の諸国に伝えれるだけの力を有した時、その国の持つ文化力が、英財力へと転換しているのも事実である。
アジア諸国が、自己発信力を手にした時、いままでのモラルは覆り、新しい生活様式、もしくは、よりアジアらしい、その国らしい姿を見て取ることが出来る。
経済発展と文化的水準の差から、アジア諸国は、近代以降コンプレックスを抱えていたが、IT革命、そして２００７年の世界経済危機からの世界経済・文化中心が分散されるなか、アジア新興国での経済発展と文化推進力の増幅により、西洋の枠組みからの脱却と、西洋の枠組みにとらわれない文化成長と文化発信が可能になった。
これらの、アジアへ経済中心の移行、世界経済中心が分散化された事は、民族主義、ナショナリズムに属さない、アイデンティティーを持ち、より自由度の増した表現が可能になるのも事実である。
Post-Orientalismから、既存の枠にとらわれた東方趣向ではなく、元々私たちが持つ、アイデンティティーを世界に自己主張する事であり、欧米諸国の既存の社会構造に沿った受動的文化・経済活動から、能動的文化・経済活動へと移行する社会風潮を表している。また、西洋へ対する劣等感と過剰評価の喪失、対個人での公平的評価、コンプレックスからの脱却、または、脱却する様を意味している。
