【Gap of the Dreams】Akiko TOJO Solo ExhibitionPost date：2024-01-09
Updates：2024-01-09
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- Event Time
- 2023-12-30~2024-02-18TUE. – SUN. 10:00 – 18:00
- Event Location
- No. 340, Sec. 2, Tiding Blvd.,, Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City Taiwan, R.O.C
Neptune Gallery is honored to present Akiko Tojo’s solo exhibition, “Gaps of Dreams,” at the 3F Show Box during this winter. This marks the artist’s third exhibition in Taiwan, showcasing recent works that are both soothing and emotionally rich. The exhibition runs from December 30, 2023 (Saturday) to February 18, 2024 (Sunday), with the opening reception scheduled for January 6, 2024 (Saturday) at 2:30 PM. We sincerely invite you to participate.
Regarding the cultural and discursive aspects of dreams, their interpretations can be traced back to various sources, including mythology, religion, medicine, and art. One of the earliest scientific analyses of dreams is found in the work of the psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), titled “The Interpretation of Dreams.” Freud interprets dreams as the most direct expression of human desires, explaining dreams as the subconscious resolving conflicts and illustrating the reasons behind dream formation. Akiko Tojo’s art, with its whimsical creatures, fantastical entities, and anthropomorphized animals, embodies elements inspired by the artist’s deep thoughts. When dreams serve as a means to artistically resolve real conflicts and embody the essence of healing, Carl Gustav Jung’s (1875-1961) interpretation of dreams aligns more with the theme of the exhibition, “Gaps of Dreams.”
Jung proposed that dreams have a broad collective unconscious realm and are a pathway for self-integration, manifesting in the nocturnal activities of the mind to mend the conscious psyche during the day. Akiko Tojo’s artfully realizes Jung’s concepts of art and healing. She recreates details of dreams and childhood memories in the texture of wood carvings, using clever arrangements and structures to complete stories and mend the gaps in the soul, making imagination tangible and resonating with our expectations. According to Jung, dreams rebuild emotions accumulated in the subconscious, allowing for an inner reflection after reconstructing the psyche through dreams and rediscovering the value and faith in life. Through free creation and active imagination, the soul is reshaped. In the presented works, such as “お菓子なパーティ – 賢者-,” which depicts a sage coated in sugar and symbolizes childhood nostalgia for sweets, “輪廻猫,” a child wearing a kimono with airplane-shaped cookies tied to the chest, representing the joy of beautiful memories, and “君が眠るまで,” a girl in a half-asleep state hugging a doll, expressing the loneliness and anticipation we have all experienced, the artist through carving gives tangible form to time and memory, awakening the inner child and rebuilding the self.
The world of dreams knows no limits, from soaring through the universe to as small as sand. It is ever-changing, sometimes vivid, and sometimes mundane, yet it always allows exploration of the deep-seated needs of the soul. As mentioned in the artist’s self-description, while we often seek self-realization in the mundane reality, the countless possibilities in the dream world, filled with vibrant and imaginative life force, offer immense imagination and healing to the real world. Akiko Tojo’s exhibition, “Gaps of Dreams,” not only expresses the projection and expectations of inner changes through dreams but also carves out the details of the spaces between dreams, such as the distance at the fingertips, the stacked cushions, and the warmth of an embrace, sculpting the real us.
Regarding the cultural and discursive aspects of dreams, their interpretations can be traced back to various sources, including mythology, religion, medicine, and art. One of the earliest scientific analyses of dreams is found in the work of the psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), titled “The Interpretation of Dreams.” Freud interprets dreams as the most direct expression of human desires, explaining dreams as the subconscious resolving conflicts and illustrating the reasons behind dream formation. Akiko Tojo’s art, with its whimsical creatures, fantastical entities, and anthropomorphized animals, embodies elements inspired by the artist’s deep thoughts. When dreams serve as a means to artistically resolve real conflicts and embody the essence of healing, Carl Gustav Jung’s (1875-1961) interpretation of dreams aligns more with the theme of the exhibition, “Gaps of Dreams.”
Jung proposed that dreams have a broad collective unconscious realm and are a pathway for self-integration, manifesting in the nocturnal activities of the mind to mend the conscious psyche during the day. Akiko Tojo’s artfully realizes Jung’s concepts of art and healing. She recreates details of dreams and childhood memories in the texture of wood carvings, using clever arrangements and structures to complete stories and mend the gaps in the soul, making imagination tangible and resonating with our expectations. According to Jung, dreams rebuild emotions accumulated in the subconscious, allowing for an inner reflection after reconstructing the psyche through dreams and rediscovering the value and faith in life. Through free creation and active imagination, the soul is reshaped. In the presented works, such as “お菓子なパーティ – 賢者-,” which depicts a sage coated in sugar and symbolizes childhood nostalgia for sweets, “輪廻猫,” a child wearing a kimono with airplane-shaped cookies tied to the chest, representing the joy of beautiful memories, and “君が眠るまで,” a girl in a half-asleep state hugging a doll, expressing the loneliness and anticipation we have all experienced, the artist through carving gives tangible form to time and memory, awakening the inner child and rebuilding the self.
The world of dreams knows no limits, from soaring through the universe to as small as sand. It is ever-changing, sometimes vivid, and sometimes mundane, yet it always allows exploration of the deep-seated needs of the soul. As mentioned in the artist’s self-description, while we often seek self-realization in the mundane reality, the countless possibilities in the dream world, filled with vibrant and imaginative life force, offer immense imagination and healing to the real world. Akiko Tojo’s exhibition, “Gaps of Dreams,” not only expresses the projection and expectations of inner changes through dreams but also carves out the details of the spaces between dreams, such as the distance at the fingertips, the stacked cushions, and the warmth of an embrace, sculpting the real us.
