New gallery pledges to present art with no restrictions

Cora Si

A new art space in the city officially opened earlier this month, kicking off with a photo exhibition, Fukushima.

Cora Si, former curator of the Ox Warehouse art association, said that a local design company, Chiii Design, has lent the space to the group and provided them with the facilities to hold art exhibitions.

Speaking to the Times, Si explained that the space, “At Light,” is not restricted to exhibiting any form of artwork. Indeed, the next exposition will feature a private collection of oil paintings.

“Actually we don’t [target] a specific kind of exhibition. Now it’s mainly contemporary art,” said Si.

Initially, the art space behind the government headquarters was formerly named “Chii Gallery,” but it was not fully utilized.

“The idea for this gallery was to use it as an exhibition space but the gallery did not think about what kind of [exhibitions] they want it to have,” said Si.

“Later on, the gallery met with us and they thought that it’s okay to lend the place to us, so [that’s] why we’re here now,” the curator said.

Currently, the art space is showcasing the works of photographer Kan Tai Wong, who documented the livelihood of cities and towns damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

The following year, he entered the exclusion zone established after the Fukushima nuclear disaster and took photos with a Polaroid camera, believing that the particular medium would add an additional emotional layer of color.

The photographs show the livelihood of residents in the aftermath of the earthquake, including farmers growing cops in their restored lands while villagers carry out rituals and festivals.

Meanwhile, the curator believes that the art space serves as a platform for artists to freely showcase their works.

“This place is beautiful, and has an old style western architecture. I think this is really an ideal space. I even think it’s more beautiful than the exhibition spaces in Taipa Museum,” she remarked.

Comparing it to the previous art space for which she curated, Si noted that “At Light” gives a different vibe and receives much more freedom to showcase various artworks.

“The government lent the previous one [Ox Warehouse] and they gave us freedom [to showcase artworks], but the people I’m working with are different now […] and they’re really easy to work with,” said Si.

“We want to keep the flexibility of “At Light” when we are operating this space because many [art] spaces have restrictions regarding how you want to display artworks, which isn’t so good,” the curator added.

Si revealed that “At Light” is planning to hold six exhibitions this year, along with a community event.