The simple act of cutting things in half yields new interpretations, understandings and possibilities. A line starts everything in this simple process.
HALVING is a simple process that occurs in our daily lives. It is so simple that it can happen at a subconscious level; an apple is cut in half with a knife to share between two people, or a piece of paper is folded in half for storing in a bag. This simple and ubiquitous action is the main theme of this exhibition.
One of the purposes of this exhibition is to break standardization and to yield new physical experiences of everyday objects surrounding us. For example, toilet paper, a pillow and a table are some of the objects many of us interact with on an everyday basis. Most of these objects function well and fulfill our different needs. For the most part we are satisfied with the toilet paper, note pad, or pen we choose to buy and use. However, their basic properties have become static because they are made and used for specific needs.
Most of us do not have to think about what else a table, a pillow, or a toilet paper roll could be, because they work fine as they are.
These objects are successful in this way, but the material and functional possibilities of the standardized objects are then rarely explored as a result of this ’success’. Other possibilities for these objects are therefore absent from our minds. What happens when a roll of toilet paper is cut in half and reassembled into two half-sized rolls? Can they still be called toilet paper rolls? Do they still function as such? What would you do with these familiar but unfamiliar objects?.
Through this exhibit I hope to communicate our abilities to discover new possibilities existing in our everyday lives. Halving is just an example of a process through which we can gain new experiences of everyday objects.
Joji Fukushima