Hiraki Sawa's 'flown' exhibition at Parafin explores memory and displacement through surreal animations

Hiraki Sawa's exhibition 'flown' at Parafin in London presents three constructed rooms filled with accumulated objects, serving as backdrops for his intricate animations. These works transform everyday domestic spaces through surreal displacements, such as tiny jetliners navigating apartment halls in 'Dwelling' (2002) or walking objects in 'Elsewhere' (2003). Sawa's technique employs stop-motion photo-collages displayed on small LCD screens within wooden cabinets, evoking pre-cinematic devices like zoetropes. The exhibition reflects personal experiences of displacement, including the artist's eviction from a London studio and his parents' departure from their Japanese home. Recent pieces like 'Platter' (2018) contrast dollhouse interiors with arid landscapes, while drawings depict metronomes and gramophones visualizing sound. The dual projection '/home and /home (absent rooms)' (2017–21) features returning jetliners in an empty space, emphasizing themes of memory and transience. The show runs through 10 September, anchoring Sawa's exploration of time and materiality in animation and drawing.