NADA House 2021

Ulterior Gallery presents neon sculptures by Takashi Kunitani (b.1974), an artist based in Kyoto, Japan.

The sculptures on view at NADA House are from a series Kunitani calls "Porn Site." The pink neon lights form words that Kunitani culled from category headings on porn websites. These words are laid flat on glass shelves installed in the staircase, making the words viewable from any direction. When a viewer looks up at the neon, the words are readable. However, the letters start to deconstruct into pink neon clusters as they ascend the staircase, and become mere forms by the time the viewer reaches the second floor. Then, the lights present themselves as formal sculptures.

These sculptures transform the ordinary staircase into a “conceptual porn site” only when the words activate the connection within the audience’s mind and imagination. Once the pink neon sculptures become abstract again, the staircase also returns to a normal staircase.