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Pulsing Laser Installation Sweeps Viewers into an Electronic World

The room housing Ryoichi Kurokawa's 'Node 5:5' hisses like a snake and glows with energy and danger.

The first thing that grabs your attention is the all-encompassing noise. InsideJapanese artist, Ryoichi Kurokawa's Node 5:5 audiovisual installation, a hair-raisingly sharp sound screeches into the space, and seconds later, a bright red laser beam sparks its way through the room. The ruby beam continues through the area hitting a dark screen, which leaves behind a white emulsion. Additional lasers emerge, creating sequential patterns and in conjunction with the laser and sound as white patterns emerge onto the screen.

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The whole room hisses like a snake and the space is full of energy and danger. A master of experimentation, Kurokawa has cleverly constructed Node 5:5 aiming to sweep his audiences into another realm. "I'm always trying to provide my audience and viewers pleasure and surprise," Kurokawa tells Creators. "It's a great pleasure that my work allows viewers to think differently through experiencing my art or can trigger them to do something."

In Node 5:5, Kurokawa combines sound with laser trajectories and projected images. He utilizes a combination of technologies: kinetic laser modules, video projection, and wave field synthesis (a speaker system which creates a sound source anywhere in a given space). The laser system controls several lasers, each of which is independent of the other. At timed intervals, the lasers propel into the darkness, bringing a sequence of bright red light into the space. The white patterns are projected onto the screen, which change in accordance with the sound and lasers. By using these three technologies simultaneously, Kurokawa creates an immersive audiovisual experience that enthralls his viewers and drags them into his electronic world.

In his previous audiovisual installations, including Unfold and Sirens, Kurokawa also employs wave field synthesis and video projection mapping, creating hypnotic experiences that blur the digital world with reality. Discussing the difference between Node 5:5 in comparison to his other pieces, Kurokawa tells us, "The biggest difference is the scale. Fundamentally the idea is the same as my previous installations but this time I've tried to set out a new phase of using space, light and sound, and how different mediums can be merged in space and time as a single unit." Kurokawa explains that within his artistic practice it is not the size of an installation that interests him but the curation of subtle cues that allow for a memorable experience. This was easier when constructing his previous installations, as incorporating subtle stimuli into Node 5:5 has been challenging due to its size. "Large scale pieces readily provide an impact and dynamic, though it's difficult to convey delicate expression," Kurokawa explains. With this in mind, although Node 5:5 is a large installation, by synchronizing technologies and creating subtle variations in sound and light, Kurokawa has created an impressive art piece which gradually envelops people and seduces them into his daring and electric world.

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To view more of Kurokawa's work click here: http://www.ryoichikurokawa.com/

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