How does an artist change our point of view on the mundane tenets of our daily lives? Tanaka Koki has undertaken this endless quest that he presents mainly in video, sculptures and installations. He turns the video camera to zoom in on the trifling objects of our daily lives, capturing their movement or their simple presence in the midst of an ordinary scene. Editing the footage in a continuous loop, Tanaka produces works that strip the subject of its narrative point of reference and leaves it floating in space before our eyes. For example, past works have featured a constantly overflowing glass of beer, a basketball that never stops bouncing, toilet paper that forever floats in the wind, and a wig engaged in an endless dance in midair! Through this assortment of video works, Tanaka urges the viewer to realize that events are tangentially and coincidentally linked. In the same vein, Tanaka’s work makes us realize that we too are a part of this phenomenon—mere cogs in the overall machine of the overarching world around us.

In Taipei, Tanaka went around the streets in search of 12 common household objects that he could use for his new work. The number 12 reminds us of a lifetime cycle, such as12 months in the year and 12 signs in the zodiac. The artist’s interactions with the city create an intangible relationship between the objects and sites. The video images feature such random daily objects as hangers and towels –things that one can find anywhere—used in unconventional ways. The resulting installation is a mélange of the objects themselves and 12 monitors that screen the videos. The objects on display are far removed from their original purposes and evoke the manner of the Surrealists who were inspired by the accidental combination of objects. Tanaka’s installation rouses the viewer into drawing out the hidden connection between the objects and their imagination and tempts the viewer to switch their set of values on everyday life. In this way, Tanaka turns his gaze to the immediate world around us to create an endless image that makes it seem as though we are trapped in a never-ending dream. His work therefore becomes a metaphor for our fortuitous lives.