WATANABE Takuya

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WATANABE Takuya

Participating Project	Exchange Residency Program (Japanese Creators sent abroad)
Activity Based	Japan
City / Place stayed	Brussels / WIELS
Period	2022.7 - 2022.12

Purpose of the residency

I aim to examine ethnicity and its underlying issues in Belgium, a country with a complex history of being both a "multinational state" and a "polyethnic state." Through fieldwork, I would like to investigate the creative approach to connect our social perspectives on unequal development, stratification and the accompanying international migration of labour in the capitalist world with the realities of the people who live under these conditions. For this project, video will be used as the device to frame and reimagine the physicality of our language and customs from new perspectives.

Plan during the residency

• Participation, observation, and interaction with ethnic communities
• Conducting interviews with local sociologists, political scientists, etc.
• Exploration of new forms of expression

Activities during the residency

Immigration, Masculinity and Vulnerability are three keywords that emerged during the six months of residency in Brussels. It all started with an encounter with a 22-year-old Moroccan-origin young man who spoke to me on the street one day. He admired Takeshi Kitano as a film director. He then approached me with the idea of making a violent artistic film about a Moroccan gangster and I decided to “take his proposal seriously.” But in less than a month, our project had ended in a pipe dream. I continued to interact with my friend who had lost the sparkle in his eyes and had absolutely nothing in common with me anymore. Most people laugh when I tell this story. However, his setback and this laughter have many implications. Although this event might be inconsequential for others, it ended up becoming a significant matter that affects not only him, but also me.

Outcome of the residency

During this residency, I tried to take actions continuously without pausing. Throughout the daily interactions, fieldwork and discussions with other artists, I responded to the discrepancies and stimuli arising due to the different ways of thinking between residents. As a result, I gained new perspectives and working methods and learnt about the advantages and difficulties of working in Europe. Although I spent a lot of time on research and production and achieved many outcomes, I wish I had considered more about how I should develop an ecosystem that supports my activities as an artist.

Creator Information