Project statement
“Sand in the Wind” is an online exhibition presenting our ideas about “Instability” and “Silence.” The shapes of the desert landscape change, but sand remains the same as if the adaptation and persistence of we people among the unpredictable and unstable society.
We share these concepts as artists, working through drawing, painting, and animation. Implementing the style of Net Art, we create a unique journey for the viewers to experience our artworks which is more than just a showcasing website.
Our website shows images and texts which are thematically in line. They do not serve the purpose of an explanatory caption, but an extension of the work, correlating to each other with dynamic tension. Collaborating with a programmer, the contents are displayed in the four panels for viewers to interact with.
We approach the theme with various perspectives as we are from different cultures. Kawahara explores meditative moments of instability and ways to confront fear through his artistic practice, which is rooted in his experience of the volatile nature in Japan. Kawahara uses improvisational gestures to form deep textures and compound images, incorporating landscapes of his daily life into his works, which refers to the sense of mystery and Buddhism/Animism.
Protests and the pandemic continue globally, including Jerry's hometown, Hong Kong. Through his art creation, he responds to the anger and fear of the citizens and their sense of powerlessness. Jerry investigates multi-narrative and alternative forms of presentation. Two or more panels will be presented in order to provide different layers to the story.
View Point
This project is to create a non-linear experience of an online exhibition. We are looking at how a verbal symbol and a visual symbol could empower each other.
The contents would switch when viewers click on the panel. Multiple unique combinations of images and texts as well as their interrelation would be generated by the viewers. This is a collaborative narrative conveyed by Kawahara and Chan.
The pace of the background movement would change sometimes which reflects the volatility of nature. Through this website, we are approaching the vibe of “Sand and the Wind” in terms of form and content.
Jerry Chan
b. 1992
Jerry Chan is working on drawing, animation, and installation. He completed his MFA at Pratt Institute in 2020 in New York and BFA at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2016 respectively. During his study, he developed his interest in multi-narrative and animation drawing.
In 2020, he was selected to showcase his latest animation in several online exhibitions including Art Saves Humanity which was curated by Jerry Saltz, a popular art critic. In 2014, Chan was one of the selected comic artists with the other 11 counterparts to publish their stories in a collaborative comic book called Comic Master Class Collection. Meanwhile, he has participated in several group exhibitions before and after he graduated while some of those were curated by himself, which concerned experimental comics. The shows Achieve Comics and Comics like that were the two big milestones of his art practice, consolidating his goal and direction on multi-panel drawing. He also started implementing digital technology in his practice since the show Comics like.
He is now based in New York and keeps digging into multi-panel drawings while he began to do animation.
Kosuke Kawahara
b. 1980
Kosuke Kawahara is a Brooklyn-based artist born in Kyoto and raised in Shiga, Japan. His intuitive/improvisational gesture generates site-relevant imagery through its multi-layered structure.
Kawahara completed MFA in Painting/Drawing at Pratt Institute in May 2020. He received multiple scholarships from Pratt, including Pratt Merit-based Scholarship, Weiss Endowed Scholarship, Carlow Memorial Scholarship, Pratt in Venice 2019 Merit-based Scholarship, and Pratt in Venice 2019 Assistantship Award. Kawahara recently won the prize with his painting in the competition entitled "Forward Together!" held by The Nippon Club (NY), and the work will be exhibited online this fall 2020. His works are presented in both the United States and Japan, including Super Dutchess (NY), Trestle Gallery (NY), NARS Foundation (NY), NURTUREart (NY), ART IMAGINE GALLERY (Tokyo, JP), and Showcase presented by Megumi Ogita Gallery (Tokyo, JP).
Planna Inc.
since 2016
Planna Inc. is a digital consulting company that accelerates innovation and growth with the world’s enterprises and startups. Planna teams up with results-driven technology enthusiasts with expertise in global project management and management consulting, leading multi-cultural organizations. Experienced in various areas of IT, the company covers business strategic planning, system modernization, and application development.
Jerry Chan x Kosuke Kawahara
