OFFSET PLANE by WORKSHOP™

"Offset Plane," an exhibition showcasing art books from seven publishers, was held from April to June 2025 at Ramp, a versatile space in Beijing, China. The installation and spatial design were created by artist Hiroyuki Arikawa, who works under the name WORKSHOP™.

Arikawa established his own fashion brand in 2013 and began designing display fixtures for exhibitions. He suspended his brand in 2017 and began collaborating with publisher Rondade, one of the exhibitors in this exhibition, creating display fixtures for their events. Since 2019, he has been working under the name WORKSHOP™, creating artworks and exhibitions based in Tokyo.

At the 2024 Beijing International Book Fair, Arikawa created displays for a book exhibition hosted by Chinese publisher Ori Studio, featuring works from Rondade, Edition.Nord (Japan), and Fair Enough (a group of four Swiss publishers). He placed books on intersecting aluminum frames with three lines, expressing the relationships between the publishers. This display, titled "Highway Intersection," caught the attention of Ramp's owner, leading to the commission for "Offset Plane."

The venue, Ramp, is a multi-purpose space converted from a former factory in the suburbs of Beijing. The spacious area measures 367 square metres with 9-metre-high ceilings, already equipped with concrete slopes, stairs, and structures built from scaffolding materials.

"Based on the exhibition concept of 'offset plane' conceived by the organizers and the unique features of this space, I wondered if we could reconstruct the existing scaffolding materials to form a new exhibition environment," Arikawa recalls.

The artist dismantled part of the existing scaffolding and created an exhibition space while retaining the rest. The stairs to the upper floor were left as they were.

He dismantled the removable scaffolding materials in the venue and, adding some new materials, assembled a double-layered grid system in the centre of the space. Aluminum frames of varying heights and angles were inserted into this structure, with acrylic panels placed on top of the aluminum frames to display 57 books scattered throughout. Visitors move through the structure, stopping and crouching to pick up books and turn their pages.

"By threading aluminum frames through the structure, the shape of the negative space changes. As visitors encounter books through shifting viewpoints, they can enjoy an immersive experience with the books while sensing gradations," Arikawa explains.

A visitor enjoying books at Ramp in Beijing. 　photography: ori studio

The books were showcased on the scaffolding. 　photography: ori studio

The art book exhibition was also a three-person show featuring works by photographer Go Itami, sound artist Takeshi Hakozaki, and Arikawa. Arikawa's own artworks were exhibited in the space as well. Fluorescent lights are frequently used in Arikawa's work. For this exhibition, his installation also featured fluorescent lights arranged three-dimensionally so that their expression changes depending on the viewing angle. Raised in the urban centre, Arikawa described the neon of business districts and entertainment areas as part of his formative visual landscape.

"Both fluorescent lights and aluminum frames—the materials I use are ready-made, standardised products. By combining and constructing with them, I seek to evoke 'phenomena' in space," Arikawa says.

Offset Plane was an exhibition within a vast space centred on the relationship between books and people where multiple layers—photography, sound, and environment—intersected. After the exhibition ended, the scaffolding materials, originally planned to be returned to their former state, were left in place to serve as a backdrop for future exhibitions.