meticulous fishing line grids trace the falling orbits of colorful paper rolls

from the staircase of this large room, yasuaki onishi threw roll after roll of colored paper through the air, transforming it the way an abstract expressionist might transform a canvas with layers and layers of splattered paint. throwing 640 rolls of paper in all directions seems as simple as dripping paint on a canvas, but in order to trace the orbit of each throw, onishi first concentrated for hours and hours as he suspended fishing line, 6 layers of meticulous grids through the air.

all images by takeru koroda

in the video above, yasuaki onishi quietly works on his grids. then, just as quietly, begins to throw. but in that moment just before he throws the first arch of color, the light catches the grids just right, like a well organized indesign file IRL — and as he winds back to flick his first stroke of paint through the air, the OCD in all of us freezes in fear of ruining something beautiful. he releases the first paper roll and, to great relief, not much has changed. it will take a lot more time and a lot more throws to cascade the entire room in arches of color. 

time, gravity, and action come together to create this piece. onishi throws and throws, and by the time he’s finished, the grids have all but disappeared. in yokohama japan, where kanagawa prefectural gallery is located, there is an international port, where, at many sailing departure ceremonies, people throw these rolls of paper tape to say goodbye. onishi’s room ‘tracing orbit,’ is part of a group exhibition at the gallery titled: 5 rooms II: the truth is in the air.

project info: 

title: tracing orbit
year: 2018
dimensions: H6.4m x W22.7m x D22.5m
material: paper tape, fishing line, other
group exhibition: 5 rooms II – the truth is in the air
venue: kanagawa prefectural gallery, yokohama, japan