photo courtesy by Asian Improv aRts Midwest
Hiroshi Mehata/ Mehata Sentimental Legend
The Story of Color Cleanser
The Color Cleanser: A Cascade Through Memory’s Noise
Our world is no longer shaped solely by the material. It is built from layers of images and information, filtered through our senses, fragmented, and left to drift in our minds. This is "memory’s noise." The colors we see, the sounds we hear in daily life—they scatter into pieces, amplified by the flood of social media and the silence of lockdown. Each time we encounter new information, these fragments connect at lightning speed, forming impressions and emotions—sometimes confusion, sometimes vanity, often anguish. In this chaotic modern age, we are constantly drenched in a deluge of noise.
The Color Cleanser confronts this chaos head-on. A torrent of improvised colors mirrors the noise of our memories, inviting us to perceive its essence. Yet, it’s not merely an echo of disorder. As viewers immerse themselves in its countless hues, photograph it, share it, and transform it into sound, their cluttered thoughts are cleansed, awakening a lucid consciousness and a hope for renewal. And in the end, by facing the delay of our own voices, we find liberation through laughter. This work is an experience—a journey that decodes the noise of our time and turns it into harmony.
What Is Memory’s Noise?
"Memory’s noise" is the debris of information we’ve experienced through our senses—disassembled, unresolved, lingering in our minds. A fleeting post seen at dawn, the hum of news at night, a glimpse of the world through a locked-down window—these blend into a formless murmur that cloaks our awareness. In today’s society, social media’s relentless barrage and the constraints of isolation amplify this noise to unprecedented levels. We live submerged in a "chaos of impressions," where doubt and unease swell. This work seeks to unravel that noise, offering a moment to perceive its truth.
The Cascade of Color: Perception and Purification
The paintings of The Color Cleanser are mirrors of this "memory’s noise," crafted in spontaneous bursts of color. Hues cascade like a waterfall, reflecting our disordered world. But something shifts when you linger in its presence. A sensation akin to the Buddhist concept of shiki soku ze kū—form is emptiness—emerges, as the tangible "color" dissolves into the void. This act of perception purifies the noise within us, clearing the mind. Chaos transforms into hope, fragments weave into harmony—this is the heart of The Color Cleanser.
Amplification in the Social Media Age
In our era, we don’t just see—we capture and share. This instinct is woven into The Color Cleanser’s fabric. When viewers photograph the paintings and spread them across social networks, they amplify "memory’s noise" further. Through the app Color / Sound Generate, these images become sound, flooding the exhibition space with layers of sonic chaos. This process harnesses a hallmark of the social media age—the compulsion to amplify—and turns it into a piece of the artwork. The noise embedded in the paintings is made audible, confronting viewers with its presence.
From Sonic Chaos to a Journey of Purification
The sounds that fill the space are no mere backdrop. They embody the "memory’s noise" held within The Color Cleanser’s colors. As multiple visitors’ captured sounds overlap, the chaos swells, turning the room into a microcosm of our fractured world. Yet, in perceiving this cacophony, purification begins. Amid the flood of sound, we recognize the noise’s essence and release it. Cluttered thoughts settle, and a seed of renewal takes root. This is a journey—from sight to sound to consciousness.
Moon Echo: Laughter and Final Liberation
At the end comes Moon Echo, a sound installation of delayed voices. Recording your own words and hearing them echo back, warped by time, reveals something startlingly personal. The delay can sound aggressive, absurd, or comical. By perceiving this "noise of the self," we confront our inner turmoil. And when we laugh at the glitches of our own voice, a final cleansing arrives. Aggression and confusion dissolve in that laughter, completing the exhibition’s arc.
The Greater Meaning
The Color Cleanser is not just a painting, nor merely an exhibition. It is a cycle that decodes, amplifies, perceives, and purifies the "memory’s noise" of our age. Improvised colors reflect chaos, audience actions turn it into sound, the space overflows with discord, and laughter restores harmony. This work is both a mirror of our information-saturated era and a device to wash our consciousness clean. Each encounter peels back the noise within us, offering a fresh lens to see the world anew.
This isn’t art to simply look at. It’s an experience to join, feel, understand, and laugh through. The Color Cleanser reveals the noise of our memories and grants us the power to purify it. If you dare to dive into its chaos, listen to its echoes, and laugh at your own voice, something extraordinary will dawn on you: our tangled consciousness holds the potential to return to harmony.