text by Takahiko Suzuki
A way of investigation for my work is "living in"; the result of it will not be written in a text, it will become visible in my work. This may not be during the residence period itself, but in the period after that. The experience of my artist-in-residency thus has significance for my present as well as for my future artwork, it is a process of accumulation.
My main field of the investigation is the cities around the world. In my idea, all cities are test fields of our future. Many kinds of people who came from different cultures live in the same city, and try to communicate and understand each other. Each city has its own unique character. A city is filled and covered by the intentions, wishes and the history of its habitants. The character of a city is exactly that . And it is not easy to be aware of that for the people who lives in it. Because it is like the air for them. Of course their notion is not only a single one.
Every person has his or her own community in the city. One person lives simultaneously in different communities, for example - a school, a family, a company, friends and more.
Cultural diversities in the city are mixed, and they make up the unique atmosphere of that city. This is not fixed but changes slowly.
It is mixed and disrupted at the same time. But in our daily lives our view of the city is usually rigid and not dynamic. I suppose that the city is camouflaged from that point of view. It is easier for me as a marginal person to feel the camouflage pattern of the culture than its residents. It is not that I want to be a marginal person in the new situation forever. I would rather try to adjust to the culture myself.
But it is impossible in a few months, and it brings friction and confusion to me as an alien and an Asian.
Usually when I explain my work, I say that my installation is a translation of the atmosphere of a city.
But it is not a direct translation of it because that would not make sense for its residents.
"I want to give a view which is seen by marginal people who want to adjust to the culture."
"I want to give a view which is result of the friction and the confusion cause by the process of adjustment."
And it is also not a real view of the city, it is filtered by me.
When we walk through the camouflaged city, we need something more than a map. Usually visitors to my installation have to make their own rule for staying there. Because most of my installations are almost empty, and visitors don't have so many objects to see. And my work provides a bizarre situation which is very different from the outside environment.
I hope that, while visiting my installation, they are going to notice the involuntary movement of their mind. In the past I have created a great variety of installations, and I am still continuing with this.
The basic idea is how I can see the dynamics of a city, its ever changing atmosphere, and how I can live there.
I have been living in New York-USA, Thessaloniki-Greece, Barcelona-Spain, Dusseldorf-Germany and Goteborg-Sweden. And I will be in Taipei-Taiwan October till the end of April. Those cities have their own unique atmosphere. The period was basically short, the longest period was seven months and the shortest one was two months. But during my artist in residency program, I could have relationship with domestic artists. They have a lot of cultural information about their city and their country. And the information I gathered was not only through language but also by the experience of my daily life. This aspect is very important for my work.
Living in a city as an artist in residence is very different from staying for having an exhibition or lecture. I am not a guest, I stay there as a temporary but active resident.
I have web project. This is a links page of alternative or nonprofit galleries around the world.
http://www.nonprofitgallery.com
Residency Period: 2005-01-30 ~ 2005-05-17 |
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