SELFVERSE
Viewer-participatory light experience
Exhibited at London Art Fair 2024, 16-21 January 2024
ABOUT "SELFVERSE"
Introduction
"SELFVERSE", unveiled in 2021 by Yuiko Ráyka, is a participatory interactive light experience that celebrates self-expansion through the joy of the creation, co-creation, and dissolution of individual boundaries.
Immersive Experience and Self-expansion
Various light-reflecting materials, such as mirror balls, holographic sheets, acrylic crystals and aurora films etc., are randomly placed in the dimly lit exhibition space. When the participant shines a flashlight on them, fantastic reflections are projected onto the walls and ceilings of the exhibition space. The participant is pleasantly surprised by the beautiful scene that suddenly appears as if by magic.
Participants can take the reflective materials in their hands and freely reconfigure them to create their own world of light while enjoying various experiments.
This analog interaction, without any programming or digital devices, will result in a unique creation by the participants.
This creative world of unlimited possibilities, created by each participant, is called "SELFVERSE".
Collective Engagement and Oneness
This work provides a shared playground for both self-exploration and collective engagement.
As well as encouraging inner and outer self-expansion, this work also brings together friends, family and strangers to collaborate and to integrate each one's 'SELFVERSE'. By manipulating light, sharing joy and co-creating together as one, an infinite universe will form naturally. This playful communal experience will gently dissolve the boundaries between self and other through light as an art medium, fostering empathy and relationships as a unified whole.
The Power of Simplicity and Sensory Experience
In today’s technology-driven world, this artwork, which utilizes light reflections physically manipulated by human hands, is indeed noteworthy. The fact that such complex and diverse visual effects are created using just flashlights and reflective materials - seemingly ordinary tools and methods - demonstrates the potential of human creativity and imagination, as well as the power of simplicity in tools.
Evaluation of The Work
This simple yet powerful work including essences of Eastern thought such as unity, harmony and impermanence, spans several categories of art history while creating a multi-layered art experience that transcends traditional boundaries. In addition, this work encourages a redefinition of the role and significance of art in human beings and society, and symbolizes a new direction that emphasizes a multi-centered form of expression.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have consistently attempted to express the unknown possibilities that we as human beings all possess and the wonder of our individual existence through my artworks. In this work "SELFVERSE", viewers are not as static bystanders but an active force, joyfully experiencing the sparkle of his or her own potentiality. I believe that artists are the first to be moved by their own creations. Through our work, we, artists, experience an expansion of our world and ourselves, and we rejoice in the possibilities that go beyond previous boundaries. One day in 2018, while experimenting with light, I discovered a simple yet creative technique that I would later implement in "SELFVERSE", along with the profound joy it brought. It occurred to me that this idea could be used to share creative excitement and joy with others. This method, shining light on reflective material, is so simple that many have experienced it at some point – and I believed it could directly engage the viewers' creativity. In the summer of 2018, a few months after the idea was conceived, a prototype of "SELFVERSE" was presented in my independent project titled "Create the Universe, Play in the Universe". Seeing the viewers, in other words, the participants IN and OF the work, enjoying and immersing themselves in their creation, convinced me that the most important element of this work is the "people". We all have our own wonderful creative universe. We can develop that universe, merge it with the universes of others, and expand it infinitely. The actions of the participants in this work, their collaboration with each other, and the world woven by their light, are the very embodiment of this. In this work, it is also possible for the participants to create beyond my imagination as the artist of this work. The "individuals" of the artist, the work as a medium, and the participants will gently dissolve the barriers between them and unite in the creation of an infinite universe. This is what this work is. We have entered a new era. Having experienced many hardships and changes in recent years, I believe that we are called upon to evolve spiritually for the new era. Each of us can powerfully create our own reality by awakening our own true potential. It is my hope that this work, "SELFVERSE", will contribute to awakening people for the future. We will use our creativity and potential to create the new era. Yuiko Ráyka, 2023
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Yuiko Ráyka
Japanese ultra-contemporary artist, born and currently works in Tokyo, Japan.
Her body of work focuses on the unknown potential of each of us as human beings and our evolving spirit towards a new era. Much of her work is inspired by her own interdimensional and subconscious experiences. She seeks to make it a multidimensional expression that works in the realm of human unconsciousness.
Her primary mode of expression is through installations that emphasize on physical experience. Recent works include "SELFVERSE", an experiential light installation work, and "SOUL GEMS META", an evolutionary project incorporating metaverse, VR, and NFT.
View CV
Exhibition shots
In London Art Fair 2024
Available pieces
Custom orders for the SELFVERSE installation and the devices displayed at London Art Fair 2024 are available at a special price until the end of May 2024.
For details about the pieces and purchase inquiries, please contact the gallery at g77gallery@gmail.com
The Potential of "SELFVERSE"
"SELFVERSE" is continuously expanding the limits of creativity. At each exhibition, new elements such as NFTs as proof of participation and magnetic levitation devices are introduced, along with fresh ideas from the artist and the participants, making the participants experience even richer.
Furthermore, the presence of participants is vital in this work. The content of the exhibition is updated by different participants each time, resulting in unique creations on-site.
"SELFVERSE" has been exhibited in galleries, art fairs, and cultural institutions in Kyoto, Seattle, Miami, New York, and Belgium, with plans to expand to other countries and regions. In addition, collaborations with various fields such as science, education, and medicine are also being considered.
SELFVERSE WORKSHOP
"SELFVERSE" is adaptable not only for exhibitions but also as a workshop format. Participants can bring their own reflective materials to share and collaborate, experimenting with art by combining them with materials prepared by the artist. Alternatively, they can create their own unique, independent devices by mixing and matching their favourite materials. The possibilities for workshop activities are diverse and flexible.
For inquiries or proposals regarding exhibitions and workshops, please contact the artist at raykaart.info@gmail.com
EXHIBITION RECORD
-Solo presentation "SELFVERSE", London Art Fair, 2024
-VOLTA NEW YORK, 2023
-"MUSIC IS・SELFVERSE", Art Yī, Brussels, 2023
- "SELFVERSE: The Beyond" at Beautiful World Exhibition, Kawamura Noh-Theater, Kyoto, 2022
- Solo Exhibition "SELFVERSE: Sparkling Heart" at CONTEXT Art Miami, 2022
- Seattle Art Fair, 2022
- Solo Exhibition "INTO THE SELFVERSE", Gallery G-77, Kyoto, 2021
- "Create your Universe", Daizenin-Temple Gallery, Kyoto, 2018