The Sands of Time
In the Shadow of Belief
In the shadow of belief all that is certain becomes false, all that is known becomes ignorance.
In the Shadow of Culture
In the shadow of culture we assume our own importance and yet remain an insignificance universally.
The Sands of Time is a sculpture series by Akane Takayama and was a feature at her solo exhibition ‘Walking the Wall’ in 2004. This work in moulded plastic, fine sands and hand carved artefacts produce her signature juxtaposition of forms. In the flowing plastic moulds are contained the fine sands, solid but almost gas like in appearance. Onto this stop motion liquidity, the artist places static, solid structures of human design. We can see no boundary between the distinctly differing forms, they merge to produce one overarching image, they fit, they are as one. We see no contradiction.
Perhaps it is in the silence of these pieces that The Sands of Time deliver their impact. There is something strangely impassive about these works, it is as though they are all waiting for something to happen. As we look on there is an obvious absence which we can easily miss because it is simply not there. The artefacts are all of a human manufacture, they are all built architecture designed with specific purpose. These are iconographic structures in human consciousness but the artist has produced them in a uniformity of white. In this way there is a certain unreal sense of these structures; they do not allow you inside.
As a consequence of this barred entry, we start to realise that despite their obvious human genesis there are no humans to be seen; there is just we, the audience. We find ourselves part of this installation in a way that a churchgoer or a stargazer connects with infinity. As we stop and look we stand on the Sands of Time and in the silence we find that infinity.