These are the things that came before the eyes of contemporary artist Masaru Iwai. This first collection of video works induces action.

A contemporary artist attracting attention in Japan and abroad,Yu Iwaireleased its first collection of works in May this year.

Many of Iwai's works deal with the themes of cleaning, washing, purification, and cleaning. This book also contains four video works related to cleaning, based on his experiences in various places.

Galaxy wash, 2008

This is a video work shot from directly below a transparent water tank from a fixed point. Inside the tank, cups, vegetables, bread, whole chickens, fish, sunglasses, and other items are washed one after another. The work questions the world about which items are clean and which are dirty, and about the changing ideas of cleanliness depending on the person and the times.

The white building washing, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2012

White Building" stands in a slum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The piles of garbage and the communal latrines emitted a foul odor. One day, the building's inhabitants decided to clean up the building for the first time in its history. This film is a video depicting the cleanup.

Cosmetology on the street, Berlin, Germany, 2012

During his stay in Berlin, Germany, Mr. Iwai sanitized the droppings on the streets by applying oxidol and alcohol and painting the surfaces. It was, in other words, a hygienic approach, an aesthetic approach, and ultimately a cosmetic approach to dealing with feces on the streets.

100 fish (Or before and after of epicure), Batumi, Georgia, 2012

A port town called Batumi in Georgia (Georgia). Mr. Iwai suddenly started an unplanned party to eat 100 fish. The local people, who at first observed the party from a distance, gradually came up to him, ate the fish, and even cleaned up the mess. This film is a video of the whole process.

The four sheets of paper inserted between the pages of this book were created to visualize the process of completing the work. The red text was also designed as an extension of this process.

The second half of the exhibition includes discussions by four prominent figures. Anthropologist Toshiaki Ishikura, dance researcher Nanako Nakajima, and others discuss the works from different backgrounds.

Why did he choose these four works out of so many? Mr. Iwai answers, "They are the ones that serve as a merkmal (benchmark) for me. He also says that he finished his video works on different types of paper because he likes the relative characteristics of time that books have. This is similar to Iwai's production style.

This book will give you a sense of Masaru Iwai's efforts to dive into the phenomenon and evangelize it.