Eva Steynen Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in Belgium by Japanese artist Ken’ichiro Taniguchi (1976, lives and works in Berlin and Sapporo, Japan).
From city to the sculpture
The project began with aerial photographs of Antwerp, in which Taniguchi was drawn to the star-shaped moats of the Brialmont forts and other fortifications scattered across the city. By tracing these structures and following their remains, he discovered a larger network of sites, remnants of a defensive ring that once defined Antwerp’s urban geography.
Visiting these locations, Taniguchi explored the surrounding areas and collected Hecomi from roads, walls and other man-made surfaces. Each indentation became the starting point for an individual sculpture: one collected Hecomi, one sculptural form, one specific location. The contours of these often-overlooked marks become the basis for new, three-dimensional forms.
This transformation begins with Hecomi Fitting. Taniguchi cuts the collected shapes from bright yellow PVC made from recycled materials and fits them back into the original cracks. By returning these shapes to the surfaces from which they originated, he transforms what might be perceived as damage or absence into a vivid, tangible presence. This act of fitting acknowledges the original trace while initiating its further transformation.
The fitted shapes subsequently become the basis for the Hecomi Studies. Taniguchi divides them into multiple parts and reconnects them with hinges, creating movable sculptures that can be folded, opened and reshaped. Through this process, flat planes acquire volume, while the original contours remain recognisable in new and unexpected configurations. The sculptures retain a sense of play and possibility, as forms that can be reconsidered and transformed over and over again.
Brought together in the gallery, the sculptures form an installation connecting distinct sites across Antwerp. Each sculpture corresponds to a single Hecomi collected at a specific fortification site. The Antwerp Hecomi Map accompanies the works, linking each sculpture to the place where its form originated. The map reveals an alternative geography of the city, shaped not by its familiar landmarks but by details that might otherwise escape our attention.
Alongside the sculptural installation and the Antwerp Hecomi Map, a video documents the project’s journey, from the discovery and collection of individual Hecomi at the former fortifications to Hecomi Fitting and their subsequent transformation into sculptures. It also offers a closer look at the fitting process, showing how the shapes are returned to the cracks from which they were taken.
The poetics of Hecomi
Since 2000, Taniguchi has developed an ongoing artistic practice around Hecomi, a Japanese term referring to an indentation in a surface. Collecting cracks, fissures and depressions encountered in urban environments around the world, he draws attention to forms that often go unnoticed or are perceived as signs of damage and deterioration. In his work, these traces reveal an unexpected visual character and sculptural potential.
The Japanese verb heko-mu describes the physical indentation of a surface, but can also refer to a feeling of emotional dejection. Often perceived as signs of damage, deterioration or neglect, these marks become, in Taniguchi’s work, forms worthy of close attention. By isolating their contours, he reveals their particular character: unexpected shapes that may appear fragile or irregular, yet also possess a striking visual clarity. His practice transforms what might initially appear fragile, irregular or damaged towards a form worthy of close attention, possessing its own poetic and playful identity.
The exhibition is endorsed by the 160 Years of Friendship between Japan and Belgium.