This work is an attempt to reconstruct the theater—an apparatus designed for “seeing”—as a structure of perception. On the stage sits a reproduction of a room, and in front of it, a screen gently sways. Projected onto this screen by light and video is the “world appearing to consciousness (Noema).” Behind it lies the physical stage, symbolizing the “consciousness striving to perceive the world (Noesis).”
As the viewer shifts their perspective, the relationship between “seeing” and “being seen” inverts amidst the interplay of reflection and transmission. Here, the theater itself rises as a nested space where consciousness and the world continuously generate one another through mutual reflection.
The images projected on the screen are fragments of landscapes from the artist’s own camera roll. However, these are not presented as the photographer’s records, but rather as “afterimages of consciousness belonging to no one.” The images lose the order of time and place; day and night, urban and nature, memory and the present loosely intersect. As reality and the video layers swap places between reflection and transparency, quiet questions arise: Who is observing the world? Did the world exist before it was seen? The theater, as a “place of appearance,” generates a nested space where consciousness and the world birth each other.
Furthermore, as part of this experiment, three distinct statements accompany the work. By presenting how the differing gazes of Art, Cultural Anthropology, and Neuroscience interpret this piece, the project embodies Noema Lab’s philosophy of embracing multiple interpretations.
Noema Lab
Noema Lab is a creative unit led by artist Moka Takeda. Centered on the phenomenological themes of “Noema” (the object of thought) and “Noesis” (the act of thinking), the lab practices co-creation and research incorporating insights from diverse fields such as neuroscience and cultural anthropology. The unit creates video installations that question the nature of perception and cognition.
Beyond merely producing and presenting artworks, Noema Lab characterizes its activities by treating the exhibition space as a “field for experiment and dialogue,” emphasizing a process where viewers’ reactions flow back into creation and thought. Launched in April 2025.
