‘Cloud & Toe / 雲とつま先’ refers to two points of perception as the furthest points of touch from a human’s eyes. The Toe is the furthest appendage of the body away from the eye and the point which connects us to the ground, our contact point with the earth. On the other hand, as we point to the sky, we extend our hand and fingers away from the body in an attempt to touch those forms which, although full of sculptural and physical potential, remain soft, distant, and intangible. Somewhere between these two distant points is the phenomenology of perception.

Notions presented in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s 1943–44 investigations of perception and embodiment serve as a starting point for clarifying the relation between the mind and the body, the objective and the experienced world, language and nature. The central point of our body extends to all of our senses and forms the integration with the horizon of objects. Between the Clouds & Our Toes we encounter the experience of all activities performed through our sensory integration with the materials of the world. From here we investigate the phenomenon of how we derive the diversity of sculptural form, objects, and images in our practice.

The project extends research and development from the previous Platform for Shared Praxis #1–5 exhibitions produced between 2018 and 2022. Conceptually, it focuses on how social function and meaning are transformed in the ‘Art Object’ as it traverses from site to site and through its contingent exhibition history. Furthermore, Cloud & Toe considers the intersections artists create between various disciplines, as well as the boundaries between interrelated art practices and interpersonal relations. Undoubtedly situated within the post-medium condition and paying homage to the ‘Artist as Curator’ discourse, the project features selections of new and old works, constructed objects, documented images, installation archives, small collaborations, and works from other selected Australian, Japanese, and international-based artists.