Canvassing

Masaki Ishikawa

Glasgow Project Room

07/06/2024 - 23/06/2024

Masaki Ishikawa, ‘Cavassing’, Installation view, Glasgow Project Room, 2024

Canvassing, Acrylic on linen, 200 × 160 cm, Masaki Ishikawa, 2024

You need to take a picture, the table has to be clean, Graphite on newsprint, 64 x 48 cm, Masaki Ishikawa, 2024

You have gone wrong, you can’t go on like that, Graphite on newsprint, 64 x 48 cm, Masaki Ishikawa, 2024

Tree of Children, Graphite on newsprint, Masaki Ishikawa, 2024

uploads_files_3102586_Toon+Female, Graphite on newsprint, 40 x 30 cm, Masaki Ishikawa, 2024

uploads_files_3955956_Girl_FBX2020, Acrylic on linen, 200 × 150 cm, Masaki Ishikawa, 2024

Canvassing
07/06—23/06/2024
Wednesday-Sunday 11am-5pm
Sundays 12-4pm

I began canvassing with a group called the Wyndford Resident Union in Glasgow in early 2024. We sought votes in order to save houses on the Wyndford Estate from being torn down. One by one, we would knock on doors and discuss with residents their respective votes towards the prospect of demolition. Each time we heard a response from a resident, we wrote down the house number and noted whether the vote was yes or no. It was a systematic, repetitive and personally insightful process.

Naturally, the residents and I spoke across the doorway. They never stepped outside towards us, and we never stepped inside towards them. The corridor of the maisonette faces outside, not inside the building, reminiscent of the structure of the doorway. The dynamic between the exterior and interior of these homes made me feel simultaneously intimate and removed from the individuals I was speaking to. When they opened their doors and looked at us they were lit by sunlight, while our faces were backlit and darkened. The interiors were dimly lit, while the maisonette corridor was bright. We would knock on the door and discuss the future of their residence with the inside of their private home in view. They were very honest about what they desired and also with what brought them down about the project. We faithfully listened to what they had to say but only recorded their house numbers and a yes or no vote. All I knew was their address, their vote, and a superficial impression of their life.

Although there was distance between us, I knew these individuals were more than room numbers and answers to votes. In my paintings and drawings for this exhibition, I aspire for the figures to function as symbols of this experience. They are mere representations of figures, but at the same time, they have lives which are private and intimate. These characters are created using either 3D models or Artificial Intelligence. Such tools usually depict individuals that are unnamed, anonymous and generic. The selection and careful depiction of those superficial figures resemble the distance I felt during this canvassing experience.

Masaki Ishikawa is a Japanese artist who lives and works in Glasgow. He works with digital and physical forms of images and seeks what holds the notion of nostalgia and intimacy. Ishikawa graduated with a BA in Painting from Musashino Art University in Tokyo and completed his Master in MFA at The Glasgow School of Art in 2021. His recent shows include group shows ‘Narrow Gauge’ at 34 Annette Street, Glasgow, ‘Hyper-Saturated’ at Shanghai Exhibition Center, and a solo show ‘Motion & Notion’ at Simulacra in Beijing.

Photo: Masaki Ishikawa

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