Exhibition

Phonedinate


Creator: Hikaru Aohara
Producer: Yu Kusube
Term: May 12 (Mon) – June 27 (Fri), 2025
Open: Weekdays from 9:30 to 18:30
Close: Weekends

This exhibition showcases innovative work that transforms smartphone wallpapers into dynamic fashion elements, seamlessly blending personal style from the physical world with the digital realm.

At the heart of this experience is Phonedinate, an app built around the concept of "coordinating your smartphone just like your outfit." In today’s world, smartphones and smartwatches are integral parts of our daily wardrobe. Yet, while we change our clothes every day, our wallpapers often stay the same. Why? Simply put, finding a new wallpaper to match your outfit can be time-consuming. Phonedinate solves this problem by generating a perfect wallpaper to complement your outfit in an instant—just by using a photo.

Using advanced AI, the app isolates the clothing elements from your photo, analyzes them through k-means clustering to identify the three dominant colors, and then creates a randomized mesh gradient wallpaper that fits your device’s resolution.

With Phonedinate, users can now seamlessly extend their morning routine to include the digital world—coordinating not just their outfit, but their device’s home screen as well. This app introduces a new daily habit, where digital devices are an active part of personal style, bringing the joy of “coordination” straight to your pocket.

Through this exhibition, we invite you to reflect on the growing intersection of our daily lives with digital technologies powered by AI. The boundaries between the tangible and intangible aspects of our thoughts and actions are becoming increasingly blurred. By using clothing—a familiar, personal element—as a motif, we aim to explore how the fusion of the physical and the digital reshapes our experience of style, self-expression, and identity.

 

Upcoming Exhibition

Open: Weekdays from 9:30 to 18:30
Close: Weekends / National holidays / August 11-15
Guest Curator: Nagisa Takai

今、人が人を産むという根源的な営みすらも、他者に、そして技術に「委託」できる時代が訪れようとしている。

人工子宮、配偶子提供、遺伝子編集──。かつてフィクションだった未来は、現実に足を踏み入れはじめた。

母性は身体から切り離され、設計され、管理され、そして選別される対象へと変貌する。
人間たちは、効率化された生のシステムに安心しながらも、なお「本物」への渇望を捨てきれずにいる。完成された美に酔いしれて、その裏にある不確かさや、不可視の犠牲に目を背けてはいないか。

進化し続けるテクノロジーは、私たちの生を加速させ、美しく装いながら、どこかで確実に人間性を侵食していく。
それは希望なのか、それとも静かな暴力なのか。

この展覧会は、「委託された生」と「技術に内包された母性」という境界領域に焦点を当て、私たちが何を選び、何を失っていくのか──人間の存在そのものを問い直す試みである。


We are on the brink of an era where even the most fundamental act of human existence—giving birth—can be "outsourced" to others, and to technology.

Artificial wombs, gamete donation, genetic editing—futures that once belonged to the realm of fiction are beginning to take tangible form.

Motherhood is being severed from the body, reconfigured, managed, and transformed into something that can be selected and optimized.
Even as people find comfort in this streamlined system of life, they remain unable to let go of their longing for something “real.” In our intoxication with perfected beauty, are we turning a blind eye to the uncertainties and invisible sacrifices that lie beneath?

As technology continues to evolve, accelerating and beautifying our lives, it also quietly encroaches upon our humanity.
Is this a promise of hope—or a form of silent violence?

This exhibition explores the liminal space between "outsourced life" and "maternal qualities embedded within technology," posing the question of what we choose, what we lose, and ultimately, what it means to be human.


2002年東京生まれ。東京藝術大学美術学部先端芸術表現科を2025年に卒業後、同大学院に進学、現在在学中。実際に世の中をリサーチして得られた現実や近未来に起こり得る問題を、CG等で制作した映像を用いながら、主に映像インタレーションとして鑑賞者に問いかけるという手法をとっている。

Born in Tokyo in 2002. After graduating from the Department of Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2025, currently enrolled in the graduate program at the same university.
Her practice involves conducting real-world research into current and near-future societal issues, which are then explored through video installations, using CG and other visual media to engage viewers in critical reflection.

About

ITbM Gallery is situated within the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM) building. WPI-ITbM serves as a hub for forging a new interdisciplinary realm of research by fostering collaboration between state-of-the-art synthetic chemistry, animal/plant biology, and theoretical science. Its mission is to introduce "transformative bio-molecules" that not only revolutionize scientific practices but also impact our way of life.

Within the spectrum of events organized by WPI-ITbM around the theme of "Mix," ITbM Gallery stands out. This gallery is dedicated to showcasing the crossroads of science and art, emphasizing the beauty and creativity born from their fusion. Our aim is to stimulate scientists to explore unconventional ideas and foster innovative "Mix" concepts. Moreover, we strive to provide NU students, faculty members, and staff with an opportunity to reflect on the concept of "Mix" and its diverse interpretations.

JOIN OUR GALLERY!
ITbM Gallery invites emerging artists to submit artwork for an opportunity to participate in our exhibitions. We are looking for a diverse body of artwork in all mediums and styles. If you are looking for gallery representation and to have an exhibition in Nagoya, submit your art and present it to the public.

SUBMISSION

Organizer: Issey Takahashi
Collaborator: Kazutaka Hirota
Guest curator: Nagisa Takai, Becky Alp, Briar Rose Pelletier
Advisor: Jian Xue

ACCESS

1F Entrance Hall, ITbM Gallery, Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University

 

CONTACT

Issey Takahashi
Research Promotion Division (RPD),
Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University

Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Tel: +81-52-789-4999
Email: takahashi.issei.a9[at]f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

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