Ryuichi Sakamoto is a universally respected composer, and co-creator, Shiro Takatani is one of the founding members of the art group Dumb Type.
Released in 2007, this art installation is the two artists' attempt to fuse image and sound. The two artists met during 1999 when Takatani was the visual director for Sakamoto's opera, LIFE. This new installation takes the foundations of Sakamoto's LIFE and adds a contemporary spin to it, sending the modern world a message through a new form of art.

The installation consists of nine 1200mm square by 300mm high acrylic aquariums hung 2.5m from the ground in a 3 by 3 grid. Each aquarium is placed between speakers as images are projected onto the mist produced by machines in the water tank. The spectator walks through the installation space and can feel and sense the fluid movement of sound and image. As the subtitle for the piece suggests, the installation explores themes of fluidity, the invisible and the inaudible within the 20th century world, and our attempt to access this ambiguous environment of nebulous uncertainty.

A new version with newly added scenes aiming to illustrate civilizational transformations and insights into environmental matters was premiered the 1st november 2013 in the YCAM.

Concept, direction Ryuichi Sakamoto, Shiro Takatani
Sound programming Kenji Yasaka / SYNETICS LTD
Visual programming Daito Manabe
System programming Ken Furudate
Material editing Hiromasa Tomari
Visionary at large Akira Asada
Technical direction Takayuki Ito [YCAM]
Mechanical operation Richi Owaki, Soichiro Mihara [YCAM]
Original curation Kazunao Abe [YCAM]
Technical support YCAM Interlab
New York crew
Recording engineer Fernando Aponte
Production management Evan Balmer / Kab America Inc.
Legal supervisor Susan Butler
Production committee
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Shiro Takatani, Norika Sora, Yoko Takatani, Kazunao Abe
Exhibition staff
Takayuki Ito [YCAM], So Ozaki, Kenji Yasaka [SYNETICS LTD]

LIFE - fluid, invisible, inaudible… was produced on commission at the Yamaguchi Centre for Arts and Media [YCAM],and exhibited from March 10 to May 28, 2007 at YCAM.
A majority of the materials in this installation have been modified from the original opera LIFE, which premiered in 1999.
A special thanks to Musikelectronic.