A recent graduate of Tokyo Zokei University, Sasa will fill the gallery space with a curvilinear structure made out of interlocking wood slats that arch from floor to ceiling like a giant inverted rib cage. The object’s purpose is unknown. Exuding an impassive, alien presence, it could be a sculptural study, a stage set, an unfinished architectural construction or a prehistoric artifact. Sasa himself does not have an answer. Instead, he includes with the display Japanese language audio tracks representing the viewpoints of several different characters of differing ages and social backgrounds. As the characters attempt to discern what the object represents, we learn as much about their own ways of seeing—their individual reference points—as we do about the object. Sasa says that he was inspired to make the piece after visiting a shipyard where he saw boats in mid-construction. Around the exterior of the gallery, he will erect freestanding barriers made out of tarpaulin and metal piping to further transform the exhibition into a work site—or an accident site, or an excavation site—as opposed to a display area. Incorporating aspects of performance, story-telling and imaginative embellishment, the installation dramatizes the encounter between viewer and artwork while also investigating how humans respond to things that are foreign or unknown through an instinctive desire to “fill in the gaps.” Each successive visitor to the gallery becomes implicated in this dramatic situation, and must reflect on his or her own biases and critical assumptions in assessing the work. Shun Sasa graduated from Tokyo Zokei University’s Fine Art Program in 2009. He works primarily in sculpture and installation and has also created set designs for stage productions. This is his first exhibition with Take Ninagawa Gallery. *The text was provided by Take Ninagawa Gallery.