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Alternative Computations — Worlds Otherwise Calculated
Spiral
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Artists
Ryuta Aoki, Erika Fuki, Souryo Matsumura
Technology turns violent when play and festivity are lost. When calculation becomes fixed as an apparatus solely for efficiency and correctness, the world converges toward a singular worldview.
Calculation is not a technology invented by humans. It is a phenomenon that constantly occurs in the natural world; life itself is calculation.
Mathematics serves as an interface for understanding this phenomenon and engaging with the world, while simultaneously functioning as a language that shapes how we see the world. Japan once possessed its own distinctive mathematics called wasan, in which problems and solutions were dedicated to shrines and temples. It was practiced playfully and festively, as a cultural pursuit alongside haiku and chanoyu (the Japanese tea ceremony). The totality of how calculation and mathematics have been practiced—this we call "cultures of calculation."
Beyond the world we have accepted as given, alternative cultures of calculation may exist—three works illuminate this possibility from different angles.
Calculation is not a technology invented by humans. It is a phenomenon that constantly occurs in the natural world; life itself is calculation.
Mathematics serves as an interface for understanding this phenomenon and engaging with the world, while simultaneously functioning as a language that shapes how we see the world. Japan once possessed its own distinctive mathematics called wasan, in which problems and solutions were dedicated to shrines and temples. It was practiced playfully and festively, as a cultural pursuit alongside haiku and chanoyu (the Japanese tea ceremony). The totality of how calculation and mathematics have been practiced—this we call "cultures of calculation."
Beyond the world we have accepted as given, alternative cultures of calculation may exist—three works illuminate this possibility from different angles.
Schedule | Jan 29 (Thu) 2026-Feb 1 (Sun) 2026 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||
| Website | https://ac2026.ryutaaoki.jp/?lang=en | ||
| Venue | Spiral https://www.spiral.co.jp/ | ||
| Location | 5-6-23 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062 | ||
| Access | 1 minute walk from exit B1 or B3 at Omotesando Station on the Ginza, Hanzomon and Chiyoda lines. 15 minute walk from exit B3 at JR Shibuya Station. | ||
| Phone | 03-3498-1171 | ||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it  |
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