HÀ NỘI — An exhibition by Japanese artist Kuwakubo Ryota offers a fascinating and contemplative exploration of Hà Nội at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange.

Two new pieces based on Ryota's personal experience in the city after a visit last year have been created and showcased just for the Hà Nội exhibition. 

Most of the materials used in the artworks on display are everyday objects readily found and purchased in Hà Nội. One installation reexamines the sense of familiarity and strangeness – jamais vu and déjà vu – through Hà Nội landscapes constructed from the shadows of ordinary household items.

By suspending their practical functions as tools, Ryota invites viewers to rediscover these objects in their purest form. Simple in structure yet intricate in execution, the installation promises to captivate viewers of all ages.

With the second installation, the artist looks to convey the dynamism of the city’s traffic with a delicate composition of wooden rods and a mobile lighting system, referencing Alexander Calder’s famous kinetic work 'Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere' in New York in 1932.

Ryota is known for creating device-like installations that transform simple mechanisms into quietly immersive visual experiences. 

His art has received widespread critical recognition, including an Excellence Prize at the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival for the Tenth Sentiment (2011) and the Grand Prize at Rokko Meets Art in 2012 for the LOST series.

This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to rediscover Hà Nội from a fresh perspective, whether viewers are city residents or not.

Through the interplay of light and dark, hidden landscapes emerge and unconscious associations gradually come into awareness. Meanwhile, the dialogue between stability and mobility reveals the dynamic rhythm of the city’s movement. 

The exhibition runs until May 24 at 27 Quang Trung Street. — VNS