PICA

Strolled into the small but cosy Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). Its current exhibition showcases the works of six contemporary Japanese artists in 'Alternating Currents'. The premise of the installations encourage visitors to interact and be active participants.

The man was distracted by Nadegata Instant Party's 'Yellow Cake Street', which utilizes the cafe and invites audiences to check out what has been interpreted from Perth's supposed non-existent local dessert of 'yellow cake'. Fairly interesting. It tasted kinda lime-y and lemon-y, and sweet.

We watched the video installation of experimental composer, guitarist and artist Otomo Yoshihide conduct a 'Double Orchestra' in Fukushima to highlight the situation in Japan. Japanese musicians, amateurs and professionals alike make music through the use of everyday instruments, in a show of compassion, understanding and unity for the tragic human stories from the nuclear disaster. There would be an outdoor concert in 2 weeks featuring Perth's musicians and conductors. A pity I'd miss that.

Yuko Mohri's 'io/AIO' is an intimate kinetic installation of sound and light operated by electrical sensors is nothing short of the work of an electrical whizz. It's like a successful science experiment gone big. We wandered around a gigantic sugoroku board game created by Taro Izumi. Then we were led into a project by Sakiko Sugawa, Keith Pasco and Sam Fox, titled 'The International Conference on the Reconstruction of Japan (ICRJ)', which references the large scale international conferences held for countries devasted by natural disasters and wars. However, this project seeks to give audiences an alternative to these huge conferences, showing a series of intimate dinners and putting it down on video, showcasing a specific group of 'experts' express their hopes and ideas for rebuilding Japan after the nuclear disaster of March 2011.

Yukio Fujimoto's installation of coal is placed in a huge room. It invites visitors to walk across it and create our own sounds, depending on the steps we choose to take. Of course I hopped across it with much glee.