Ten Years Later: Dialogues That Still Speak
From being "Artist A" in a year-long silent exchange to curating conversations on my own.
I was fresh out of art school when curator Naoko Mabon (WAGON) invited me to take part in one of her first-ever projects, A to/from B: a year-long silent conversation. I would be “Artist A,” paired with “Artist B” - someone I didn’t know, from the other side of the world.
The idea was simple, yet expansive: for twelve months we would communicate solely through images, posted online in sequence here. Each image responded to the one before it, creating a slow, unfolding dialogue across distance and time. Only later did I learn that “Artist B” was Kaori Yamashita from Japan.
My contributions were guided by the concept of White Minutes - periods of time when seemingly nothing is happening, yet something essential quietly emerges beneath the surface. This idea became the foundation of my exchange with Kaori, allowing me to explore pauses, stillness, and subtle shifts within our shared visual language.
A to/from B itself became a medium through which I began to understand dialogue as a living, evolving process capable of transcending barriers of language or place. It is a project I return to in thought often, reflecting on how even a silent response can shape both artistic and personal growth.
As part of the discussion event Cultural Interchange Beyond Languages and Locations accompanying the A to/from B exhibition at Seventeen Gallery, Scotland, I shared my other inspirations for the dialogue with Kaori. By reflecting on the correspondences between Jonas Mekas and José Luis Guerín, I presented my view on the ways dialogue itself can become a work of art. Their letters and exchanges revealed the abundance of sustained, personal communication, which I connected to my own experience in the project.
Looking back now, 10 years later, I can see how Naoko’s concept shaped not only my artistic practice but also my understanding of collaboration and cross-cultural exchange. The experience also sparked my love for Japanese culture and language, which I have been learning for years, attuning to silence and nuance in both art and life.
All the dialogue research and experience I have gathered over the years led me to explore contemporary models of exchange, and this is how I discovered the Dialogues: A Hybrid Art Project developed by Elisavet Kalpaxi during the pandemic in 2022.
It now informs my current project, started in 2024, which I am also curating. Inner Landscapes - Dialogues #3 grew from an artistic collaboration I initiated by inviting two Romanian artists, April Ibinceanu and Alexandra Margarint. Following the Dialogues: A Hybrid Art Project formula, we engaged in conversations about isolation in times of pain, creating a private, reflective space - echoing, responding, and initiating dialogue.
The project is currently being prepared for a physical exhibition, while continuing into its second phase, now with an additional participant who has already joined the collaboration - more on that in future newsletters.
P.S. New work is now available, and the website is being updated. The musical side of my practice is also unfolding - more to come soon.