Takao Minami
Sundial, Paris, 2022
Set of 12 colour print photographs
Print: 24 x 36 cm each / Frame: 40 x 52 cm each
Edition of 3 plus 1 artist's proof
Copyright The Artist
This work was created in Paris during the Covid-19 pandemic. Minami created sundials with objects found on the streets of Paris (e.g. baguettes, playing cards, metro tickets, broken balloons, faucets,...
This work was created in Paris during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minami created sundials with objects found on the streets of Paris (e.g. baguettes, playing cards, metro tickets, broken balloons, faucets, mirrors, etc.) and recorded them with a film still camera. The placement of the sundial's dial and gnomon, starting from 8 am, is dictated by the latitude and longitude of the installation and the date. On the other hand, the shape of the found object and the shadow of the gnomon indicating the time of day when the photo was taken, were obtained by chance. Thus, the photograph contains compositions that are a combination of the inevitable and the accidental.
This work is also a record of the fact that even under the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, people's daily lives continue unabated, and that the workings of the universe are constant, regardless of human circumstances.
Minami created sundials with objects found on the streets of Paris (e.g. baguettes, playing cards, metro tickets, broken balloons, faucets, mirrors, etc.) and recorded them with a film still camera. The placement of the sundial's dial and gnomon, starting from 8 am, is dictated by the latitude and longitude of the installation and the date. On the other hand, the shape of the found object and the shadow of the gnomon indicating the time of day when the photo was taken, were obtained by chance. Thus, the photograph contains compositions that are a combination of the inevitable and the accidental.
This work is also a record of the fact that even under the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, people's daily lives continue unabated, and that the workings of the universe are constant, regardless of human circumstances.