AgainST Gallery (AgainST Gallery) will hold a Mamiko Hirai exhibition titled Toaru-hi from April 19th, 2024 (Friday) to April 22nd, 2024 (Monday). This exhibition celebrates the release of musician Mamiko Hirai’s album Toaru-hi. Recorded at the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History. Toaru-hi is a collection of 58 days worth of short musical pieces, which are sketches of Hirai’s everyday inner workings. This event features a live performance and a public creation of art.
　From a young age, Hirai was aware of her inner voice which guided her to play with sounds. Through this experience in her formative years, she came to spell out her thoughts and visions too great for words in the form of short pieces of music, much like a drawn sketch. Toaru-hi is a collection of these short musical pieces. What takes the form of music in Toaru-hi is what Hirai herself perceives as the between sound and sound, person to person, and soul to soul. When the subconscious reigns, you can hear the sound of the things that are ‘just there.’ They are precious for their impermanence. Gather them up one by one and you can say the crystals that form are a visualization of sound.
　Drawing a parallel to the production of the album Toaru-hi Collection, the central theme of this exhibition is co-creation. Hirai will be performing songs from her album on her beloved, everyday reed organ and piano. This exhibition is made up of two parts: a performance of her recorded songs, and a public creation (installation) where she spells out her thoughts in that moment in that space in the same way Toaru-hi was created. Through Hirai’s performance of This Moment’s Echo, we hope to reach an awareness with you of the meaning of sounds without that have no form.

[Artist Statement]
I sometimes have the sense that my innate emotions get tied down to the ideals and values I ended up with. What was the real me actually like? I am reminded that to sit down at a piano and make sound is a way for me to know myself in that moment.
In November 2020, I put on a musical exhibition at the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History in an event called 9 days of art and music room. For two-and-a-half years since 2019, I continued to create a string of short musical pieces which I called Toaru-hi. The process was simple. I just sketched what was on my mind or maybe the color of the sky in that moment in the form of sounds. As a child, I always liked exploring the piano freely, even if for a brief moment in daily life or lessons. This experience is perhaps where everything started. Unlike work or assignments, performing what I feel is a special time where I can bring my inner darkness and light to vision. It was soon after that COVID-19 created a blank period, but this also spurred my endeavors.
In the summer of 2022, I returned to the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History where I re-recorded everything I had already written out. It was a recording of a total of 58 days worth of sketches. It can be enjoyed as one long musical set. I hope Toaru-hi will accompany listeners on their journey to returning to their real selves.

Mamiko Hirai｜https://hirai-mamiko.com/
Musician. Active playwright. Focusing on the piano and reed organ, she captures the moments when sounds and sounds mix together and fade away. Recently, her days are spent creating short pieces of music which are sketches of her daily inner workings, titled Toaru-hi (One Day). She also creates spatial music and installations for exhibitions held by creators in different fields such as art and costume design. She is exploring opportunities for co-creation.

Pianist｜Mamiko Hirai
Acoustic｜Flysound Co.
Piano tuner｜Miyuki Ogaki (Takagi Klavier Inc.)
Support｜Ashiya City Museum of Art and History
Design｜Hideyuki Saito
Production｜Tatsuya Shimada (night cruising)

special thanks to
Mika Aoki
Daisy Balloon (AgainST)
Kumiko kawai & Tadayoshi Kawai (ONE AND ONLY)
Hiroko Kitajo (Camomile village - Yasuesou)
Akimi Otsuki (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History)
Chikako Owaki (WONDER FULL LIFE)
Sai
Matinee, Journee, Soiree, and my dear family and friends

Organizer｜DAISY BALLOON
Project Organization｜HITSFAMILY
Production Support｜KATO BUNMEISHA Co.,Ltd., Suritaro Kamitani, night cruising, Design House KUJIKI
Exhibition Support｜IMAJO SAKAN, Pianopia, Eri Iwanaga (IRIS), Chikako Owaki (WONDER FULL LIFE), Hideyuki Saito, Rieko Mukai (art d’encadrement), Naotsugu Sagara
Acoustic｜Flysound Co.
Piano tuner｜Shigeno kako (Takagi Klavier Inc.)

AgainST GALLERY was established in January 2022 as a space to exhibit the works created in Daisy Balloon’s studio AgainST. Daisy Balloon has continued to work with materials that become deflated and cease to exist in their original form. They have also continued to create against the tide of the times, thus the name AgainST.
At AgainST GALLERY , we will be working to create a new vision for the art scene by continuing to explore deeper into our ongoing philosophical themes and focusing on the three perspectives of economy, environment and society for a new style of communication and sustainability. We hope our use of new materials and collaborations with many different artists will make our pre-existing theme of essential harmony a reality.