Museum Visit: SAM The Bellhop

A Travel Without Visual Experience: Malaysia

Tozer Park

2008

Room installation with travel photographs

My initial impression of the artwork was that it wanted to put the audience into the mind and perspective of the artist; The photos on the wall were taken using a camera flash, which was similar to the way the audience had to use their camera flash to see the artwork. It was only after reading the artist’s statement that everything made sense. I wasn’t too far off actually: Tozer Park went on a 5 day trip to Malaysia while blindfolded and taking pictures using only his intuition. What really struck me was the secondary statement he wanted to say; how people nowadays are too engrossed in taking photographs while on a holiday and not appreciating the actual experience. I’ll think twice about whipping out my phone the next time I’m on holiday.

Series: “torii”

Shitamichi Motoyuki

2006 to 2012

Photographs, C-type print

I was quite confused at first as I didn’t see the connection between the five photographs. “Perhaps something about the preservation of the planet?”, I initially thought. Reading the artist’s statement really opened my eyes, and I fell in love with the photos. He wanted to show how the Shinto shrine gates have now lost their initial meaning and purpose. I love the juxtaposition between the past and the present.