Exhibition Overview
aaploit is pleased to present Mizuki Uematsu’s solo exhibition “Sayuragi (さゆらぎ).” Running from Friday, June 6 to Sunday, June 22, 2025, this marks Uematsu’s third solo exhibition at aaploit, following her acclaimed 2023 exhibition “Floating on the Moon.”
Through the delicate medium of usuyōshi (Japanese thin paper), this exhibition delves into the essence of existence itself, exploring the liminal spaces where destruction and creation converge.
Artistic Concept
The finely lacerated paper fragments emerge as singular “breaths,” while ink that permeates them reveals the irreversible phenomenon of chromatic separation. Both cutting and dyeing irreversibly transform the material—acts that mirror our contemporary condition where control over one’s circumstances remains limited.
Central tensions explored:
- Destruction and Creation: The cutting action (destructive) and dyeing process (generative) coexist on a single plane
- Control and Surrender: While forms and colors transcend the artist’s control, this limitation becomes a source of creative potential
- Permanence and Ephemerality: Fixed intentions meet fluid, ever-changing results
The severed thin paper undulates with air currents, manifesting as fluid entities devoid of fixed form. This subtle oscillation—this “sayuragi”—embodies perpetual kinetic quality that never reaches stasis.
About “Sayuragi” (さゆらぎ)
The exhibition title “Sayuragi” is a nuanced Japanese neologism combining:
- “Sa” (さ): A prefix indicating delicacy or gentleness
- “Yuragi” (ゆらぎ): Fluctuation or oscillation
This hybrid term encapsulates the ephemeral trembling of existence—a state of perpetual, subtle movement that never fully settles.
Cultural and scientific resonances:
- In scientific contexts: “Yuragi” refers to fluctuations within complex systems or unpredictable oscillations in natural phenomena
- In Japanese aesthetics: Evokes “utsuroi” (移ろい)—the beauty found in impermanence and transition
- Conceptually: Frames the exhibition as exploration of delicate transitions between states of being
Spatial Experience
The exhibition transforms aaploit’s gallery into a tranquil space of resonance where:
- Paper’s breath meets viewer’s breath in sympathetic rhythm
- Wind-activated movement creates ever-changing compositions
- Light and shadow interact with translucent materials
- Silence and subtle sound of paper movement create meditative atmosphere
Visitors enter a realm where dichotomous elements—ephemerality and permanence, destruction and creation, stillness and motion—interweave in continuous dialogue.
Artist Context
Mizuki Uematsu has developed a distinctive practice centered on process-based exploration of materials and their inherent properties. Her work with usuyōshi (thin Japanese paper) represents an investigation into:
- Material agency: How materials themselves participate in creative outcomes
- Cultural specificity: Using traditional Japanese paper within contemporary art discourse
- Phenomenological experience: Creating conditions for contemplative encounter
- Temporal aesthetics: Embracing impermanence as creative force
Her previous exhibitions at aaploit have established her as an emerging voice in Japanese contemporary art’s engagement with traditional materials and contemporary concerns.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition Period: June 6 (Fri) – June 22 (Sun), 2025
Gallery Hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday 13:00-18:00
Private appointments available on other days
Venue: aaploit
TMK Building 2F, 1-21-17 Sekiguchi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Inquiries: info@aaploit.com
The tremulous expanse of thin Japanese paper invites viewers to experience “Sayuragi” as a fertile domain where multiple possibilities converge: the artist’s intentional cuts, the playful dyeing of materials, and the dynamic forms that animate the space.