Taipei:An exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum is showcasing Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto's installation art, inviting visitors to experience the museum as if it were a musical album. The exhibition, titled "Ryuichi Sakamoto seeing sound, hearing time," features interconnected spaces where sounds transition gradually between works, a concept described by longtime collaborator Shiro Takatani.
According to Focus Taiwan, the exhibition, which runs through March 14, 2027, includes nine works in seven installation groups, as well as archival materials from Sakamoto's 1999 opera "LIFE." Takatani explained at a press preview that the presentation at the Taipei museum takes into account the varying ceiling heights and gallery sizes, creating a unique route that connects the distinct worlds of each work.
Visitors are encouraged to approach the exhibition like a Sakamoto album, titled "Seeing Sound, Hearing Time." The exhibition explores themes of sound, time, nature, and technology through Sakamoto's collaborations with artists such as Daito Manabe, Carsten Nicolai, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and the artist duo Zakkubalan.
"Sensing Streams 2026-invisible, inaudible (Taipei version)" is one of the installations at the entrance, created in collaboration with Manabe, transforming electromagnetic waves into images and sound along a corridor. Another piece, "water state 1," uses satellite rainfall data from Asia to generate visual and auditory effects around a pool, incorporating stones sourced in Taiwan for a local connection.
The exhibition also offers a personal glimpse into Sakamoto's life with Zakkubalan's "async-volume," which showcases scenes from his New York home and studio. Additional works include "async-immersion" and "Life-fluid, invisible, inaudible...," which reinterprets material from Sakamoto's opera using water, mist, light, and sound. Archival displays feature notes, scores, manuscripts, photographs, and recordings, many of which are shown publicly for the first time. Visitors must make advance online reservations, with limited daily walk-in admissions available.