photo courtesy by Asian Improv aRts Midwest
Hiroshi Mehata/ Mehata Sentimental Legend
Post Internet Art
Resistance and Renewal: Hiroshi Mehata’s Dual Response to the Digital Age
Hiroshi Mehata’s "Resistance" and "The Color Cleanser" symbolize contrasting approaches to art in the digital age.
The former centers on resistance to technology and the struggle of the individual, while the latter presents purification from chaos and collective co-creation.
The contrast between these two works reveals Mehata’s multifaceted response to contemporary societal challenges, expanding the possibilities of digital art.
"Resistance": Resistance to Technology and the Individual’s Struggle
"Resistance" (2021) is a work that boldly asserts a stance against digitalization. By inscribing beautiful black and red straight lines—born from a scanner’s error—onto a traditional Japanese washi scroll, Mehata visually expresses human will in defiance of technological domination.
Set against the social context of isolation during the pandemic and historical persecution, this piece functions as a symbol of resistance.
The fusion of tangible calligraphy with the intangible nature of NFTs embodies the tension between digital and analog, while the "secret noise music" provided to owners fosters a unique, individual connection. At its core, "Resistance" is about the individual’s struggle. By portraying a figure that rises without yielding to the coldness of technology, bearing the weight of history, the work poses the question to viewers: "What should we resist?"
The serene yet powerful beauty of the black and red lines underscores the individual’s identity in the digital age, visually appealing to the will to resist.
"The Color Cleanser": Purification from Chaos and Collective Regeneration
In contrast, "The Color Cleanser" (2023 Indonesia solo exhibition) adopts an approach that embraces chaos and generates purification and regeneration from it. Visitors use their smartphones to crop and photograph colorful, chaotic abstract paintings according to their preferred compositions, sharing them on social media—a structure that incorporates contemporary art engagement into the work itself, highlighting Mehata’s creative ingenuity.
Through a dedicated app, viewers convert the colors of their photographed images into sound, transforming individual choices into a collective "multi-surround chance music" that encourages unpredictable co-creation.
The exhibition further utilizes a 3D app to recreate the real gallery space, extending it into a virtual imaginary realm.
The sounds within the app blend with real-world sounds, offering an experience of "the duality of reality and digital."
Finally, Moon Echo’s delay device transforms conversations among visitors into humorous exchanges, deepening collective connections.
The strength of "The Color Cleanser" lies in purification through the collective. By reconfiguring the art experience in the social media era and turning technology into a tool that serves human creativity and relationships, it suggests to viewers: "What can we recreate?"
Producing harmony and healing from chaos, this work embodies the potential for regeneration in a digital society.
Contrast and Complementarity: Depicting the Duality of the Digital Age
While "Resistance" and "The Color Cleanser" possess opposing characteristics, they complementarily depict the duality of the digital age.
"Resistance" takes an introspective and philosophical approach, focusing on resistance to technology and the individual’s struggle. In contrast, "The Color Cleanser" adopts an extroverted and experiential development, centered on the acceptance of chaos and collective purification.
This contrast proves the breadth of Mehata’s vision in contemporary art.
Specifically, "Resistance" highlights the negative aspects of digitalization—such as isolation and domination—emphasizing a stance of defiance, while "The Color Cleanser" pursues the positive possibilities of the digital—co-creation and healing. The two works stand in a relationship of "question" and "answer," simultaneously conveying to viewers the necessity of struggle and the hope of regeneration.
The black and red lines of "Resistance" awaken individual fighting spirit, while the collective resonance of "The Color Cleanser" heals it through communal bonds, forming a continuous narrative.
Significance in Contemporary Art
The contrast between these two works can be evaluated as Mehata’s comprehensive response to the challenges facing digital art. "Resistance" juxtaposes humanity against the coldness of technology, sounding an alarm about the crisis of identity in the digital age. Meanwhile, "The Color Cleanser" skillfully incorporates modern engagement with art into the work, using technology as a means to reclaim it for human hands and proposing regeneration in digital society.
Through this complementary relationship, Mehata points to a new direction for digital art. Individually, "Resistance" emphasizes the philosophical depth of resistance, and "The Color Cleanser" highlights the experiential breadth of co-creation. Together, they complete a contemporary narrative of "from struggle to healing." As an exploration of how humans should live in the digital age, this art offers future generations a fresh perspective.
"Resistance" and "The Color Cleanser" contrastingly depict the dual aspects of "resistance" and "purification" in the digital age while complementing each other. The former issues a warning about technology through individual struggle, while the latter offers hope through collective co-creation. Through these works, Mehata comprehensively captures the conflicts and regeneration of digital society within the framework of contemporary art, providing viewers with profound insight and experience.
Particularly, the structure of "The Color Cleanser", which sublimates modern behavior through social media into the artwork, exemplifies the pinnacle of his innovation. This contrasting story affirms Mehata as a pioneer in reevaluating humanity in the digital age.
