PLURAL BODY/IES
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PLURAL BODY/IES
ACT (Artists Contemporary TOKAS) Vol. 7
Examining contemporary society based on the plurality of the body/ies
Our body is built to functions as an organ by which we perceive the world around us. Every single one of us is a subject that generates communication, recognizes the people around, and builds relationships with them.
But why is it that human existence comes with not only one, but multiple “bodies”? One thing that facilitates the plural nature of the body, are its reproductive functions. A human is always born from multiple other bodies, and for about 200,000 years since Homo sapiens is said to have emerged, history unfurled as a string of countless interactions between one human body and another.
At the same time, advanced medical technology has enabled us to extract such individual human body parts as organs or blood, and transplant them into the bodies of people in need of those specific parts. In other words, it is possible to manipulate living bodies to integrate parts of multiple bodies of other human beings. The pervasion of digital technologies in everyday life promoted the virtual multiplication of individual bodies, whereas images of avatars or bodies modified using apps, for example, assume multiple identities through various aspects on levels other than physical reality.
This exhibition focusing on the plural existence(s) of (the) human body/ies, features works by Marion Paquette, Shikichi Osamu, and Shoji Asami, three artists who examine in their respective works the mutual bodily relationships between human individuals. Considering his dance as a form of communication at a stage prior to verbal formulation, Shikichi pursues ways of transferring and internalizing sensations generated through interactions between individuals, into other bodies. Shoji translates the worlds that she explores with her body into painted spaces, to create works that viewers are to experience in a way as if moving back and forth between their own and the artist’s body. Paquette’s creations are collective structures that incorporate human individuals in coexistence and interaction with each other, constructing spaces where the boundaries between private and public are blurred. Each focusing on the delicate relationships between individual bodies that continue to affect one another, the three artists create works that project the plural nature of the human body, remind us of the imaginative faculty and sensibility as its fundamental abilities, and inspire us to envision new possible ways of extending/expanding it into different forms of “bodies.”
*ACT (Artists Contemporary TOKAS) is a special exhibition introducing artists who practice notable activities, including those who have previously participated in other Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) programs.
Information
| Title | ACT (Artists Contemporary TOKAS) Vol. 7 “PLURAL BODY/IES” |
|---|---|
| Date | 2025/2/22 (Sat) - 2025/3/23 (Sun) |
| Time | 11:00-19:00 (Last Entry: 18:30) |
| Closed | Mondays (except 2/24), 2/25 |
| Venue | Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo |
| Admission | Free |
| Artists | Marion PAQUETTE, SHIKICHI Osamu, SHOJI Asami |
| Organizer | Tokyo Arts and Space, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture |
*Please note that the exhibition space might be closed during events.
*Programs are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.
Artists
entre l’instant et la durée 2024 Polyester, leatherette, metal, PVC
Marion PAQUETTE
Born in 1992 in Montreal, Canada. Lives and works in Montreal.
In their artistic practice, Paquette creates interfaces and situations through which they explore the delicate relationships between bodies, spaces and objects. Their typical work is a soft sculpture made from textile, paper or other material with a plastic quality, that visualizes the physical transformations and behaviors that are triggered by the interrelations between one’s own singular body and the bodies of those around.
In this exhibition, Paquette presents a large-scale installation that was inspired by a mycelium structure of fungi that serves as a foundation for ecosystems of living organisms. Unfolding across the entire exhibition space, the work comprises approximately 45 objects made from recycled cloth taken from actual sails. Visitors are free to walk into the work, and through that physical action, Paquette invite them to reconsider the collective body that is human society.
Support: Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
unisex #01 2023 Performance
Photo: Grace LIN
SHIKICHI Osamu
Born in 1994 in Saitama. Lives and works in Brussels and Tokyo.
Shikichi explores ways of grasping one’s own body and its “reality” as things that are impossible to perceive objectively from the outside, by way of interacting with other people in our immediate, material environment. Revolving around a central axis of choreography and dance, his works incorporate elements of performance, sculpture, video art, etc.
The subject of Shikichi’s work at this exhibition is the Noh play “Izutsu” (“well enclosure”), in which a woman sees a reflection of herself in the water of a well, wearing her deceased husband’s attire, and performs a dance while imagining his face and remembering the days they spent together. Shikichi translates the story into a performative installation, identifying the woman’s dance with a sensual “lap dance” that is performed for one specific person, based on his own texts related to choreography.
23.1.9 2023 Oil on canvas
Photo: KATO Ken
SHOJI Asami
Born in Fukushima in 1988. Lives and works in Tokyo.
Considering her body as “the origin of painting,” Shoji has been exploring in her work the physical image and sensation that arises through the experience of “viewing a painting.” Her work at large is characterized by an approach of painting intuitively without defining beforehand what the finished painting will look like, using mainly semitransparent acrylic panels and canvases as support media.
Shoji’s exhibition this time comprises several dozen new works including oil paintings, around a series of drawings as a centerpiece. Scheduled for the opening day is a performance in which the artist paints the window of the exhibition venue, as part of the artist’s attempt to travel back and forth between her body in the painter’s position, and those in the paintings that she makes.
Related Event
Opening Talk
| Date | 2025/2/22 (Sat) 15:00 - 16:30 |
|---|---|
| Artists | Marion PAQUETTE, SHIKICHI Osamu, SHOJI Asami |
| Venue | Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo |
| Admission | Free |
| Language | Japanese / English |
*Please note that the schedule and details of the event are subject to change.
Performance by SHOJI Asami
| Date | 2025/2/22 (Sat) 14:00 - |
|---|---|
| Artist | SHOJI Asami |
| Venue | Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo |
| Admission | Free (No booking required) |
*Please note that the schedule and details of the event are subject to change.
Performances by SHIKICHI Osamu
| Date | 2025/2/23 (Sun) 15:00 - 2025/2/24 (Mon) 15:00 - |
|---|---|
| Artist | SHIKICHI Osamu |
| Venue | Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo |
| Admission | Free (Booking required) |
*Please note that the schedule and details of the event are subject to change.
Performance by Marion PAQUETTE
| Date | 2025/3/23 (Sun) 15:00 - |
|---|---|
| Artist | Marion PAQUETTE |
| Venue | Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo |
| Admission | Free (No booking required) |
*Please note that the schedule and details of the event are subject to change.
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