ARTIST STATEMENTS (AUGUST 2019)

Toshiki Okada

Theater that is not aimed directly at the human audience. Theater with things. Theater whose yardsticks are not human ones. Theater with interposition of something that is not human and not for human benefit in the relationship with the audience. Theater making it clear that people are not at the center of the depiction or even special entities. Theater for things. Theater of things. Theater whose world may be portrayed by objects that are not human. Theater that extends its tendrils of subject and function far beyond the theater of, by, and for people.

Teppei Kaneuji

In theater, is it possible to expand the scope of a place that is not here and a time that is not now to a completely unimaginable degree? How can we occupy the same space as objects that we sense are not directed to or for us? Can we half-erase ourselves?

Objects each have their own peculiar times. People must construct a relationship or connection/non-connection with them, based on concern/unconcern and tolerance/intolerance. I envision a sort of new land art built in the virtual space that is, in a sense, theater. It could also be termed the development of “sculpture theater” as opposed to “EIZO-Theater” (chelfitsch’s new type of theater that projected video images attempt to transform exhibition space into theatrical space).

REPORT FROM RIKUZENTAKATA

Changes brought by the disaster: before and after the tsunami. To make a housing tract for the residents who wanted to move back into the same district, the communities lowered the height of a nearby hill from 130 meters to 50 meters, and are using the earth they removed to raise ground level in the new housing tract. A huge conveyor belt with a total length of 3 kilometers to carry this earth is reportedly shortening the time required for the project by a remarkable seven years as compared to hauling it by dump truck.

The hills in the foreground that had been green directly after the earthquake were lowered by the construction. The higher hills at the rear are now barren and visible from the foreground area.