Considering the Relationship between Urban Architectural Space and the Individual

The group exhibition "no man's land" will be held at SOM GALLERY from 14 February to 9 March 2025. Curated by Hou Milan, the exhibition includes Cui Jie, Haburi, Naoto Nakamura and Akeshi Teramoto.

The concept of "no man's land" in the exhibition title derives from the threshold space described by Hannah Arendt in The Human Condition (1958). In other words, it refers to a place that does not belong to either the public or the private, but functions as a place where the two intersect and new relationships are born. The importance of such intermediate areas has been pointed out in recent urban theory and sociology, and they exist around us in various forms, such as the lobbies of commercial buildings, squares in housing complexes and open terraces.

This exhibition introduces four artists who focus on the relationship between urban architectural spaces and the individual, each taking a unique approach to their work. Through the concept of ‘no man's land’, the exhibition attempts to examine how artists intervene with their personal experiences and interpretations of urban architecture as a site of control, and the politics that reside in personal memory and urban development from multiple angles.