Image/Imagine is a figurative sculpture made entirely by hand in absolute darkness, from the very first step to the very last. Including the artist, no one has ever seen—and no one will ever see—its appearance. At the museum, visitors entered a completely dark room one at a time and were allowed to touch the figure that physically exists there. Made over the course of several months and already touched by thousands, the title 想像 in kanji literally carries the sense “to envision an image [a statue].”

“So long as this work continues to exist, the figure of Image/Imagine will go on multiplying—one for every viewer.”
—Harumi Niwa (Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo), exhibition handout for EUGENE STUDIO: After the Rainbow, 2021–2022

“...In the much-discussed new work Image/Imagine #1 man, although the sculpture is placed in darkness, its actual form cannot be beheld... The work can be seen as an experiment in which the ‘seeing’ viewer’s imagination determines what the work is.”
—From an article in Numero TOKYO

“There is a vast gulf between ‘existing, however slightly’ and ‘there being nothing at all.’ Image/Imagine exists—minutely, yet unmistakably.”
—Eugene Kangawa (interview), EUGENE STUDIO: After the Rainbow, exhibition catalogue, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2021–2022

Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture.

Quoted from the web edition of Taiyo
“…The serene space that leads to deep contemplation of things that exist there but is not visible, unpredictable things that cannot be controlled by human knowledge, is oblivious to time and a sight to behold.”

One such work is “Goldrain,” an ongoing project Kangawa describes as an exploration of “creating new time.” Incorporating gold and silver fragments that mimic the movement of flowing water, the installation evolves gradually over the years, ensuring it remains in a state of perpetual transformation. “These gold and silver particles remain the same for five years,” Kangawa explains. “Over time, like river stones or sand, their shapes diverge into tens of thousands of unique forms. In 50 years, it might be a new form of nature itself.”

Catalog: Eugene i, ii, iii
EUGENE iii Goldrain
EUGENE ii Rainbow & White (tentative)
EUGENE i View archive 想像 & Light and shadow inside me
Catalog: EUGENE STUDIO After the rainbow Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Official booklet by Bijutsu Techo and Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Catalog: special edition 1/2 Century later. Shiseido Gallery, 2019

Quoted from
the catalogue EUGENE STUDIO / Eugene Kangawa: Power of Imagination Part 1/3 (Collection Exhibition, 2023)

“Light and shadow inside me is a signature series of two-dimensional works by Kangawa. In the original green works, paper is coated on one side with water-based dye, folded and fixed to form a polygonal prism, and exposed to sunlight for several weeks. Each face of the prism receives a different amount of sunlight depending on the direction of the sun’s rays, resulting in some areas fading faster than others to form a gradation of color. The fading process can be described as a “progression” in the sense that the dye changes color, or a “regression” in the sense that it brings the paper back to its original color. Furthermore, in their use of sun exposure, works from this series can be considered both paintings and photographs. The understated works, created with only their own light and shadows, offer a new perspective on the relationships between light and shadow, subject and medium, painting and photography, and beginning and end.”