‘Thirty–Six Views of Edo’ is the latest addition to The 200 Year Continuum, Christian Kerrigan’s progressive anthology of works, questioning and responding to society’s relationship with, and understanding of, emerging technologies and the natural world. By defining spatial and time-based metaphors of scenarios in which our society may find itself,Kerrigan’s working practice involves the formation of a visual language that deconstructs advancing technology and its relationship to the natural world. In this language, new mythologies emerge, and our society begins to inhabit and decipher newly imagined worlds which can only be navigated through man’s extension by technological means.
Inspired by the Japanese Ukiyo-E prints in the V&A’s digital archive, the title ‘Thirty–Six Views of Edo’ refers to the Edo period, which marked a cultural transformation into modern Japan. It refers in particular to Hokusai’s ‘Thirty–Six Views of Mount Fuji’, which depict Mount Fuji in various weather conditions, seasons, and from varying distances. The exhibition is the assemblage of the exploration of materials, techniques and workflows Kerrigan has been on throughout this residency. In developing his visual vocabulary through digital media and ‘living technology’, an interactive communication within The 200 Year Continuum has begun to emerge through which Kerrigan can start to resonate a personal approach to understanding the world.
