2025-08
AAWAA
Ni
We are pleased to announce a solo exhibition by AAWAA, director of COSMIC WONDER and artist, at Taka Ishii Gallery Kyobashi.
In conjunction with this exhibition, a collection of works on the theme of tan will be published by AKAAKA Art Publishing.
We look forward to seeing you there.
My exploration of tan is now approaching its third year. The character “Ni” appears in many place names in this region.
From Miyama to the Tango Peninsula, I have repeatedly traveled it with my Shiba Inu companion, listening intently for the constant hum of Ni amid the ever-changing rhythms of daily life, trying to grasp something hazy and formless that seems to rise from the land itself.
Impressions stirring somewhere deep in my memory linger like afterimages behind my eyes, then futter back to stillness like flakes in a snow globe.
When the song of the bell crickets heralds the end of summer, my memories of Ni crystallize in two different spaces.
AAWAA
August 30 – September 27, 2025
Taka Ishii Gallery Kyobashi
Opening reception: Saturday, August 30
17:00 – 19:00
AAWAA “Ni” Publication Commemorative Talk show
August 30
16:00 – 17:00
TODA BUILDING 4F, 1-7-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
CONFERENCE ROOM 403
Guests: AAWAA (artist), Kayo Tokuda (Representative, NPO TOMORROW), Shunya Hashizume (Project Manager, “Ashita no Hatake” Project)
Reservation required (Capacity: 30 people)
12:00 – 19:00 *Closed on Sun, Mon and national holidays
TODA BUILDING 3F, 1-7-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
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Flea Markets
I’ve loved going to flea markets since I was a teenager. Back when I was a student, I would find clothes and shoes from the 1960s and 1970s and pair them with accessories I made myself. Even now, whenever I travel, I always check the local flea market schedule and make a point of going. Finding something enchanting hidden among piles of junk, bric-a-brac, and antiques feels like catching a glimpse of my inner self mirrored in that object, and through it I gaze at my current emotional landscape. I comb through old things as if seeking something precious I once had as a child, and the search itself brings me immense joy. You might even say that this hunt for treasures among the castoffs is what I love most in life. It’s hard to put into words, but when I find something and it clicks for me, the past and present seem to become one. That moment is like opening the door to a paradise of my very own.
My close friend Elein Fleiss is also a flea market enthusiast, and when we go together, we can expect to spend the entire day. Upon arriving we head off in different directions, and even if we agree on a time and place to meet up later, we never manage to stick to it. Elein is an artist and also deals in old objects as part of her practice. She runs an antique shop called Le Batèl in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in southwestern France.
In Kyoto, monthly flea markets are held year-round at Toji Temple and Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. I’m especially hooked on the junk market at Toji on the first Sunday of each month. The Toji Kobo-ichi flea market is held on the 21st, and the Kitano Tenmangu Antique Market takes place on the 25th.
As a child, I sometimes dreamed of wandering through a vast hall overflowing with antique pots, furniture, and other objects, searching for a special something. I remember once reading a Chinese folk tale about a man who slipped into a world of antiques inside a pot and could never get out again. This story made an odd kind of sense to me, as if it pointed toward my own future. Just what is it about old things?
Text and photograph by AAWAA