Point Reflection, a geometric phenomenon of one point mirrored across an axis, is the title for both the exhibition and new performance by Aki Sasamoto. In Sasamoto’s exhibition, kinetic sculptures  including  snail shells, melamine sponges and sugar packets perform abstract concepts of craving and unpredictability as the artist’s proxy. Taking place in the highly structured environment of the gallery, Sasamoto’s live performance responds to questions such as “when did you decide to go the other way?” with signature improvisational acts including unscripted spoken words, modified objects, blowing air, live sounds, and lighting. 

This program will be followed by a Q&A with Aki Sasamoto and Hitomi Iwasaki from 3:15-4:00pm. 

Collaborators:

• Lighting Design: Madeline Best 
• Original Music: Alsarah and Matt Bauder

RSVP required. Please RSVP here.

Upcoming Performance Dates:

• Mar 3,  3:33-4:18pm
• Apr 6, 3:33-4:18pm

About the Artists:

Aki Sasamoto (b.1980, Kanagawa, Japan) is a New York-based artist working in performance, dance, sculpture, installation and video. Sasamoto finds inspiration in everyday objects and mundane situations in response to the conditions of her own physical and psychological surroundings. She has been exhibiting and performing internationally including: the 59th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2022); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2022); and Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India (2016). Sasamoto is a recipient of the Calder Prize (2023) and is currently an Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Art’s Sculpture Department. 

Alsarah is a Sudanese singer, songwriter, producer and bandleader based in Brooklyn, NY. Formally trained in ethnomusicology she views music as sonic history in action. In an attempt to connect the musical dots from Sudan to Brooklyn she formed the band Alsarah & the Nubatones in 2010. Not finding any genre or label that she felt fully described her sound, she created one dubbing it east-african retro-pop . Inspired by the sounds of Sudan and Nubia but comfortably crossing into a multitude of genres, she has released 3 full studio albums, 2 remix albums, 1 EP, and a slew of singles and collaborations with internationally acclaimed producers. Alsarah has also collaborated with the critically celebrated filmmaker Hajooj Kuka on the award winning documentary “Beats of the Antonov” traveling with them to the front lines to help guide the conversation around war, music and identity in Sudan. 

Matt Bauder (b. 1976, Ann Arbor, Michigan) is a saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Kingston, NY.  Bauder creates experimental scores by melding his woodwind and brass instruments with sounds derived from mundane found objects, toys and nature.  Additionally Bauder leads the band Hearing Things, melding his love for mid-century rock and roll, soul and experimental outer limits. He has performed with many iconic figures in avant-garde and popular music including Anthony Braxton, Bill Dixon, Roscoe Mitchell, Arcade Fire, Father John Misty, Iron and Wine, and Italian pop star Jovanotti. Bauder has been working with Aki Sasamoto since they met at Wesleyan University in 2001. 

Madeline Best (b.1984, Durham, North Carolina) is a lighting designer, performer, and arts administrator.  Her deeply collaborative artistic practice comes from an intense interest in the articulation of emotional time and space. She has collaborated with artists including Ursula Eagly, Heather Kravas, Mika Djordjevich, and Luciana Achuar.  Best’s designs have appeared at many NYC theaters including PS122, The Kitchen, Performance Space New York, and danspace project, as well as other national and international venues. Best is the Director of Operations at The Chocolate Factory Theater in Long Island City, New York.