The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue (APT2)

Emiko Kasahara's recent art practice-since she left Tokyo to spend part of her time in New York City -is engaged with an examination of human subjectivity. In particular, her work focuses on the exchange between the sexual body and the material world and the conditioning process each has on the other. Generally, her work involves the fusing of the human body with objects in the world: objects constructed to serve biological needs such as urinals, beds, sinks and floor mats. A site of encounter between art history, sexuality, materials and expressions of popular culture, the work often transforms old and even classical vocabulary into a new and meaningful language. Added to this is an engaging sense of humour that emerges on a number of levels. For example, it is reflected in some of the works' punning titles such as Untitled- chain reaction 1993, a multiple consisting of two baby pacifiers linked together; or in such a work as Untitled- three types #2 1993, which is made of three metal cylinders that represent bodily orifices. Most importantly, however, the humour transpires through the form and the often unexpected merging of elements. Take, for example, Untitled - double urinal 1994. The medium is marble, a favourite material of the late great masters of art. Here, however, marble does not so much serve to translate human anatomy as to convert female form into a hybrid, marrying it to an everyday object: a urinal. Both a double-pointed allusion to Duchamp's famous objet trouve and to the surrealists' unique ability to create unusual encounters between objects, the work also brings together two sexually and gender-distinct elements. Merging opposites through the sensuality of marble, Kasahara suggests a blurring of territory whereby gender, as well as human sexuality, are not so clearly marked.This sense of ambiguity is further extended within the materiality of the object itself. Marble tends to glorify form. Here, the purpose to which it is subjected tends to subvert this role and to deflate the serious theme. Added to this is the fact that the object has been filled with diluted javel water [bleach], a factor that deliberately generates a distancing between the viewer and the tempting sensuousness of the object. With Untitled- double sink #2 1993, Kasahara has similarly created a work that brings together human form and an everyday object in the shape of a sink. Biologically, materially and sexually connotated, the objectified body carries yet another level of reference: that of a holy water basin.This latter reference emphasises the rituality of daily gestures and their impact on the self. Furthermore, the merging of feminine sexual attributes with a reference to holy water and a sink suggests both a purifying process and a sense of renewal. Top Untitled - double urinal 1994 Marble and bleach Two pieces: 600x300x400cm (each) Collection Kenji Taki Gallery Though art historical references are not always present or even evident in the artist's work, the clinical dimension that characterises Untitled– double urinal and Untitled- double sink #2 and hints at health and medical considerations, emerges from almost all of Kasahara's hybrids. Whether in the form of javel water [bleach], the severe precision of a bed sheet, or the clear-cut edge of a floor mat; the work, despite its deliberate blurring of lines, simultaneously strives for a sense of perfection.The tension thus generated strengthens the work and its articulation. The encounter of opposite forces also comes across in a work such as Blondie 1994. A reference to a flattened head that also recalls a floor mat, the work is entirely constructed of blond, carefully combed artificial hair, cut bluntly along the edges. At one level, the work points to the impact of sexually inflected media images on the construction of identity. At the same time, as a flattened, sexually connotated body, the work also suggests a state of subservience, perhaps even servility. Kasahara's thoughtful reflections on sexual identity are developed in dialogue with a material world; a world not only adapted to human needs, but one Bottom Untitled - (in)different (detail, Girl 1) 1994 Marble 65x125x77cm Emiko IASIIIAIIA Lives and works in Fujisawa, Japan Courtesy Yoshiko lsshiki, Tokyo that also ritualistically conditions and shapes it. Humorous, yet with an edge of clinical detachment, the work speaks to the increased complexity of notions of gender, sexuality and their attendant rituals. Louise Dompierre. Associate Director/Chief Curator, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto, Canada A RT I STS · EAST ASI A 63