In Aki Sasamoto’s kinetic installation Sink or Float (2022), familiar everyday objects are turned into autonomous performing elements. Everything from snail shells, magnifying glasses, sponges, sugar packets, bottle caps, and command hooks to coffee cup lids glide freely atop specially devised industrial kitchen sinks. These appliances are retrofitted with sheets of perforated Plexiglas and a discrete HVAC system that allows air to channel through the Plexiglas, allowing objects to float and tumble across the surface as if they are improvisational dancers. At the rear of the space, a refurbished rotisserie chicken oven and refrigerator glow with a constantly changing sequence of colors. In Sink or Float, Sasamoto employs controlled chaos to transform the everyday into the fantastical, inviting the viewer to retune their perceptions of the seemingly mundane in everyday life.

2022

59th Venice Biennale, “The Milk of Dreams”
“Float Sink Float,” Take Ninagawa, Tokyo

2024

“Point Reflection,” Queens Museum, New York