Japanese media artist's first major overseas show debuts in Taichung

日本媒體藝術家首場海外大型展覽於台中登場

TAICHUNG (Taiwan News) — Renowned Japanese media artist Manabe Daito has launched his first major overseas solo exhibition, “Relational Time – Life Beyond Simulation,” at the Taichung Arts Museum.

Hong Kong-based media art veteran Kwong Joel curated the exhibition, which features three site-specific installations commissioned for the museum’s galleries.

The show integrates real-time computation, AI agents, physiological signals, light, and sound into dynamic sensory environments.

Manabe has achieved international acclaim for designing tech-driven stage performances, including the Rio Olympics closing ceremony, and collaborating with global icons such as Sakamoto Ryuichi, Perfume, and Bjork.

The exhibition marks a pivotal personal transition for Manabe, who began coding at age 10. After four decades of programming, the rapid rise of generative AI over the past year triggered a profound identity crisis, leading him to stop writing code entirely for a month.

“The arrival of AI has, in a sense, liberated humanity from the labor of coding,” Manabe said, acknowledging initial fears that his technical skills would become obsolete.

Instead of replacing his creativity, AI expanded it. The new exhibition incorporates over 21 million lines of code generated with AI assistance—a scale impossible through human effort alone.

Although he initially considered touring past works, a visit to the Taichung museum inspired him to design entirely new installations tailored to the building's architecture. Manabe said that AI allowed him to realize concepts long constrained by technical limits, reigniting his passion for artistic exploration.

Kwong emphasized that the core theme of relational time centers on how technology intersects with local culture and perception. Although Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan are geographically close, audience interactions with media and AI differ across cultures, he said.

Kwong added that visitors do not need prior technical knowledge to experience the exhibition. Rather than static displays, the installations constantly evolve based on real-time audience participation, environmental data, and AI agent responses, he said.

Each visitor leaves a subtle digital trace, subtly altering the environment for subsequent viewers.

Throughout his career, Manabe has treated the human body as a laboratory, from early muscle-control works to recent brain-decoding projects. For him, exploring technology and body modification is not about abandoning humanity, but examining fundamental sensory questions, such as why music compels people to dance.

The exhibition is on view in Galleries A, B, and C at the Taichung Arts Museum through Jan. 3, 2027.