Trace of Combustion V — Afterimage is the final work in a five-part sequence that follows the transformation of fireworks from combustion to afterimage.
In this work, the explosion has almost disappeared. The image no longer presents the firework as force, movement, or structure. Only a faint circular trace remains, suspended in darkness like a memory that has not yet fully faded.
The work focuses on the afterimage: the fragile interval in which light is no longer present as an event, but still remains in perception, memory, and material trace. What appears here is not the climax of fireworks, but what survives after the spectacle has passed.
Following Collapse, this image brings the sequence into a quieter state. The energy of combustion, the movement of the body, the absent center, and the breakdown of form have all receded. What remains is a thin residue of light, held on the surface of paper as evidence of a moment that can no longer be recovered.
The final exhibition piece will be produced as a unique work: an A1 pigment print on washi, mounted on a vertical washi support. No other piece will be produced with the same image, size, and presentation format. Depending on the architecture and atmosphere of the exhibition space, it may be presented slightly floating from the wall or suspended from above with thin wires. The installation method will be adjusted to create the strongest relationship between the work, the wall, the surrounding air, and the viewer’s body.
From the series “Trace of Combustion — Fireworks, Body, and the Afterimage of Disappearance.”
