Pika Pika

Pika Pika is an abstract art movement that began in Japan around 2005, but has gained a global following rapidly over the course of the past few years. Their work basically turns the slow-exposure rates of a camera lens into the medium of a new kind of digital artwork. It reminds me of when I accidentally set the camera to the wrong exposure level so that all the light captured in the camera end up as streaks of yellow and orange!

“PIKA PIKA is an abstract animation film made with flashlights.

A series of photographs using long exposures are edited together to make them appear as an animation.”

Simple as the idea may be, the final edited films this group produces are captivating and highly entertaining. Just as how my ten-second leader will be created through editing and compiling of multiple photographs, PIKA PIKA is a compilation of many photos to give the appearance of drawings that come to life. The compiled slow exposure photos show all sorts of people drawing simple objects and animals.

What is really most interesting is how this form of time-based media really creates something that otherwise would not be seen in the real world – the final artwork is only possible by placing the movement of light in a very specific framework. The fascinating appeal of the PIKA PIKA videos is largely due the fact that they captured a playful manipulation of light that cannot be seen without the camera lens.