Laboratory for New Media 2nd Exhibition “It Could Be Magic”

The permanent exhibit, “Laboratory for New Media,” presents cutting-edge information science and technology displayed in various artistic expressions as it is upgraded approximately three times a year. In the second exhibition titled “It Could Be Magic,” media artist Kazuhiko Hachiya will exhibit examples of his work that have been presented for display following the theme of “vision.” Using familiar technology, these creative expressions present a world which exists with us yet cannot be seen with the naked eye alone. As this exhibit offers surprises which seem completely magical, it causes you to feel new wonders and awakens your curiosity.

Fairy Finder 03 Table of the Colobockle(2006)

This work dates back to a couple of years ago, when I became a father. I felt the urge to make something like this after noticing how my own child laughed and laughed while playing peek-a-boo, apparently without ever becoming bored. The work is also influenced by Satoru Sato's series of Colobockle books, which began with A Little Country no one Knows, a book describing some clever little creatures who quietly live amongst us. Whilst it's a fantasy, I couldn't help but long for it all to be real. I think it's very similar to the feeling you get from leaving an offering of dumplings at the feet of an Ojizosama, the little stone statues of a Buddhist deity that protect children.

Fairy Finder 04 Mermaid in the Window(2007)

The other day, I took a trip to Hokkaido on the car ferry. Venturing out onto the deck in the middle of the night, and looking at the dark and rain-swept sea that seemed to spread out infinitely, I started to experience a sort of horror. I have a feeling that the nocturnal ocean is the nearest thing to the afterworld. And what is really bizarre is that despite this it also seems to somehow feel nostalgic. Standing in front of a bar table with an antiquated window that looks as though it has been salvaged from a shipwreck, the viewer glances over their shoulder, and sees something in the mirror behind them…that's the sort of atmosphere you will find in this work. Though I didn't strictly base the model in the work on it, anyone who has read Daisuke Igarashi's The Sea Monster's Children can be forgiven for thinking that the mermaid derives from the children who appear in this book.

Fairy Finder 05 Feathered Friends(2008)

I sometimes practice flying in a light aircraft. Ever since I started flying, the birds that soar through fierce winds as a matter of course, or perch precariously atop the branches of trees, make me feel as though I am watching some sort of amazing circus act. How weak my aerial technique is in comparison…but even then I feel the urge to fly. The sky is not the domain of people, yet despite this - or perhaps because of this - witches streak across the skies. And it is probably with thoughts like these that our ancestors watched birds. The birdsong that you can hear emanating from within the birdcage was recorded at the bird market in the Indonesian city of Bandung. Incidentally, according to a travel guidebook, the things that Indonesian men are supposed to need are: a wife, a job, a house, a car, and…, a bird.
Movie Direction : Katsuki Tanaka

Seeing is Believing(1996)

This is a work I completed about 12 years ago. It was influenced by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Little Prince. "The things that matter cannot be seen." Indeed. What are flowing along here are the diaries of many people stretching back across the thirteen years up until 1995. The day-to-day lives of people with whom we are not acquainted are "unknowable" ("invisible" in other words) and yet they certainly exist in every corner. We are unable to see them only because we don't know about them. The viewer that enables us to see the invisible takes the form of a box called "the Sheep". If you have a mobile phone or a digital camera, you might find that they can serve as your own substitute for the Sheep.

Special thanks to:Satomi Yamada (Strange Kinoko Dance Company) / Memi Shinozaki (Strange Kinoko Dance Company) / Kenta Hirai / Taiki Ueda / PANTOGRAPH. / Ami Nakazato / Manabu Koga (&a water) / NORISHIROCKS / Ikuko Okazaki / Ru / Haruka Ura / Shiho Uchimura / SAKAI Reisiu / Hiroshi Okamura / Nobuaki Fujiyoshi / Katsuki Tanaka / Keiko Suzuki / Christopher / People who participate in Mega Diary


Term September 6 (Sat.), 2008 – January 6 (Tue.), 2009
Exhibitor Kazuhiko HACHIYA
Media artist
A native of Saga, he was born in April 18 (appropriately enough, Invention Day), 1966. After graduating from the Faculty for Visual Communication Design, Kyushu Institute of Design, he had worked for a consulting company, and started SMTV, a private TV station unit as his art activity.
His works include the special communication tool series, with Inter Dis-communication Machine and Seeing Is Believing, and many with special function such as AirBoard, a jet-powered skateboard, and OpenSky.
The developer of PostPet e-mail software, he is a representative derector of PetWORKs, engaging in development and direction of PostPet-related software.
Kazuhiko HACHIYA Web Page