Masaru will share work-in-progress which examines the social symbolic meanings of cleaning and cleansing through video, photography, installation, and performance. Masaru's research focuses on energy and cleaning, specifically the energy that is generated from solar panels and the routine of cleaning, as well as the refinement of crude oil that leads to the detergents we use every day.

During his public programme, Masaru will present the research conducted in Dubai during his residency, as well as his artworks so far. Masaru will invite participants to question the relationship between "energy and cleaning" in the form of open research. A recorded live performance will take place in collaboration with Rei Co and Mohi of Sima Dance Company.

Date | Wednesday 8 March

Time | 6:30 - 8pm

Location | Alserkal Arts Foundation Project Space, Warehouse 50

Register now to reserve your place.

Masaru Iwai, born in 1975 in Kyoto, lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. Masaru’s film, installation and performance focus on the mundane act of cleaning and cleansing, revealing their underlying social and symbolic meanings. He participated in Seeing as Though Touching: Contemporary Japanese Photography Vol.19 at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, 2022; at the Yokohama Triennale with Afterglow, 2020; Reborn-Art Festival in Miyagi, 2017; New “Artists Today” Exhibition 2018 Unfixed Perspectives at the Yokohama Civic Art Gallery, 2018; and others.