80 Washington Square East, NYU

Jason Hirata

Sometimes You're Both

December 3, 2019 – February 21, 2020

80WSE

with:
Hannah Black
Adjua Greaves
Trajal Harrell
New Red Order & Jim Fletcher
Carissa Rodriguez
Hito Steyerl

Sometimes 80 Washington Square East hires me to help out when the art they’ll be showing has complicated video requirements. I do this kind of work for other galleries too and I also produce videos. This exhibition is made up of six videos I worked on. Half of the pieces here are artworks and the other half are documentations of artworks. While these documents (which begin with a white title card) are not artworks themselves, they do represent artworks and convey an experience of that work. In a similar way, the art on view here, which is not mine, represents my occupation as an artist and conveys an experience of my work. Making work in this way is something that I’ve been pursuing a little over a year. To a greater extent than in my previous shows, this exhibition is a structured viewing of the artworks. The proposition is that you are in an exhibition by Jason Hirata.

– Jason Hirata

Commissioned by Nicola Lees. Photographs by Carter Seddon.

A red couch sits perpendicular to a grey table, which holds a laptop, stereo reciever, and projector. Two speakers flank the table.
A close-up of a grey table holding a laptop, stereo reciever, and projector. The laptop screen shows a child's face, partially obscured.
A red couch faces a wall onto which is projected a close-up shot of a person mid-conversation.
A speaker stands against a white wall; on the perpendicular wall a WiFi router sits on a grey table.
In a room lit with red light, a computer displaying an animated screensaver sits on a desk next to a speaker.
A room holding a mixing console, a table with a laptop and projector, and a red couch. In the background is an adjoining room filled with red light.
Two large speakers and a red couch sit in front of a grey table with a projector. A large projection on the wall shows a person reading from a book.
A red seat sits in front of a TV monitor which displays a person painting. Headphones rest on the seat. A white piece of paper with text is taped to the wall.
An exterior shot of two windows each with a poster of a pigeon. A sign reading "NO PARKING Anytime" is visible in the foreground.