7x7

Artists Statement: The letters and numbers that we humans use for communication are two-dimensional symbols. However, we live in a three-dimensional world. So, there should be a way to write or display characters multidimensionally. Based on this premise, I have created kinetic displays such as One-stroke (SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 Art Gallery), and have studied motion typographies using them. As a result, it became clear that the time, movement and fluctuation that the characters had were visualized by displaying characters in a multidimensional way.

7x7 is also one of my studies of multidimensional motion typography. This display consists of 49 pixels. These pixels do not overlap in the front, at the back, up, down, left or right. Therefore, each pixel is able to represent all six directions. Using this new display, 7x7 expresses "Iroha," which is an old Japanese pangram that expresses one of the aesthetics called "Mujo (impermanence and ever changing)." From the front, people can see 49 characters (Hiragana including space) changing. However, when people see it from other directions, the flow of time and its fluctuation are visualized as unique gradation patterns. For those who cannot read Japanese, those patterns will also appear like characters. Even if that character cannot be read in any way, 7x7 certainly displays the impermanence of Iroha in mid-air.

Words are created by human beings, and words are like human beings. Text is sometimes referred to as "body" in English. And we human beings communicate with each other using language that represents our "mind." Words are not only labels for objects, but also a kind of existence in themselves. Words change and evolve with the times. Therefore, I think that making a device to display words is the same as making a perfect android or a human clone.

Artist(s): Yuichiro Katsumoto, National University of Singapore