Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time 

Nature: Arts, Museums / Galleries / Public Spaces, West Kowloon Cultural District
Organiser(s): M+, West Kowloon Cultural District
Description: seeing sound, hearing time celebrates the legacy of Japanese composer, producer and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952–2023). The work is part of a series of ‘installation music’, in which the album is paired with a three-dimensional representation of the music in a gallery space. Shown as a site-specific installation in The Studio, the work features artist Takatani’s visual compositions of Sakamoto’s instruments, plants, books and other object from his studio, projected onto a large LED screen. The images emerge from either side of the screen and dissolve, one pixel at a time, into abstract horizontal lines before regaining their original form. Takatani’s visual interventions are not synchronised with the sound but evolve continuously, creating a parallel time axis within the artwork. The music from async plays through multiple channels in a surround sound system via high-precision speakers, enveloping visitors in an immersive sonic experience.

The exhibition also features two moving image works created by German artist Carsten Nicolai (born 1965) in 2024, ENDO EXO and PHOSPHENES, presented in the Grand Stair. Each piece is paired with music from Sakamoto’s final album, 12 (2023).

Photo 1-3 | Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, async–immersion tokyo, 2024. Installation view of the exhibition Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT), 2024. © 2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Takeshi Asano
Date: 14 February – 5 July 2026
Time: 10am to 6pm, Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday to Sunday;
10am to 10pm, Friday;
Closed on Monday
Venue: The Studio, Grand Stair & M+ Cinema, M+, West Kowloon Cultural District
Ticket Price: Free Admission
Website: www.mplus.org.hk/en/exhibitions/ryuichi-sakamoto-seeing-sound-hearing-time
Enquiry: 2200 0217
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