NAKASHIMA Rika

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NAKASHIMA Rika

Participating Project	Exchange Residency Program (Japan-based creators sent abroad)
Activity Based	Tokyo
City / Place stayed	Basel / Atelier Mondial
Period	2024.4 - 2024.6

Purpose of the residency

Switzerland, among the nations legalising euthanasia (Sterbehilfe), prompts me to contemplate its significance within my research, particularly regarding the interplay of religious beliefs and societal values. Despite my ambivalence, euthanasia(Sterbehilfe)'s association with privilege and capitalism cannot be ignored. Basel's prominence in both euthanasia and its thriving art market raises intriguing questions about contemporary art's role in a post-capitalist context. Through this endeavour, I aim to foster critical dialogue on euthanasia while creating artwork that delves into the complexities surrounding mortality.

Plan during the residency

• Researching about euthanasia (Sterbehilfe)
  
• Interviewing local people, religious institution and Dignitas
  
• Visiting Art Basel and International Museum of the Reformation (Geneva)

Activities during the residency

For my research on euthanasia, I learned its reality different from my ideal through my experience during this residency and dialogues with local people. As I happened to meet a person whose family member had been euthanized and knew the fact directly, I was able to conduct an interview with the person. On the other hand, the ongoing crisis of Palestine, attacked by Israel, was breaking my heart so much, which led me to take part in the protest in Basel and kept me thinking seriously. I reflected my thought for the crisis in the installation work at the ex-synagogue art space.

Outcome of the residency

In Basel, where I aimed to research euthanasia, I met various people and got opportunities of exchanging opinions on euthanasia from diverse viewpoints. Before this residency, I had been holding a kind of stereotype that euthanasia should be common in Switzerland and the local people should be used to talking about this topic. However, I realized my stereotype was just an ideal because many people shared their opinions on it with hesitation, which was a great experience for me. Although I was not able to get a chance to interview with medical workers, as I had imagined, I learned the reality of euthanasia from this result. For the future and my artworks for the result exhibition next year, I will continue to conduct online interviews with the family of Antonia, who had been euthanized months before I completed the residency program, and will learn the Alexandar Technique, which Antonia specialized in, by going to school in Tokyo.
The most impressive episode during the residency was that a friend I made in Basel in April told me that the friend’s grandmother would just be euthanized by May, and I got an opportunity to attend her after-funeral farewell ceremony in June and interview with her relatives. I was very interested in both the ceremony and the interview, which deeply impressed me and made me think and learn more about euthanasia. Also, I had good memorable experience that I went shopping to the supermarket beyond the border, swam in the Rhine River, and took part in protest in solidarity with Palestine.
The name of Basel had just reminded me of Art Basel, as an extreme of capitalism, but my experience of this 3-month residency in Basel in usual time has brought me a different impression－ Basel is a nice city with rich cultures and a lot of art spaces and museums despite of its small size, and the institutions of squatting culture and activism in Basel are well organized, which removed my previous prejudice. 

Creator Information