Isaac Yong

Cellular Exchange: Restoration of Pottery + Soul

I see you
I see you on my many screens
I see you walking in broad daylight through the slit of my window
I think I will just stay in here a while longer

It's safe here, shades drawn, lights dimmed, walled off from the untamed, sitting in existential limbo.

There is a world within these walls, one with massive mountains and valleys made of dirty laundry, with towering cities of noodle cup skyscrapers, where time has little meaning.

And there she was, a shadow blocking seeping lights under the doorway, calling for me. I may remain invisible, but in my craft,

You’ll see me.

Cellular Exchange invites marginalized recluses of contemporary Tokyo, offering safe working environments and opportunities within the Kakurega context.

The architecture explores the process of the Japanese art known as Kintsugi alongside the rehabilitation of self-isolated individuals. Spatially divided by a spine of local sap-producing trees, isolated units provide a suitable experience for these individuals, limiting their interaction through selective partitioning and concealment. The units sit in dialogue with their extroverted counterparts, working exclusively towards a shared objective.