Mirte BOGAERT

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Mirte BOGAERT

Participating Project	Research Residency Program
Activity Based	Norway and Belgium
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2025.1 - 2025.3

Purpose of the residency

Having grown up in a Western culture where Christian values have dominated for centuries, Bogaert will use her residency at TOKAS to deepen her understanding of historical and contemporary perspectives on nakedness, sexuality, and the female body in Japan. Immersing herself in diverse cultural contexts, she seeks a broader and deeper understanding of perspectives in Japan on the topic, to critically reflect on her own embodied views. Driven by experiences of female body sexualization, she wishes to explore performer-spectator dynamics and different ways of seeing and being seen.

Plan during the residency

• Engage in dialogues with diverse individuals around themes of relationships, sexuality, and nakedness.
• Attend performances, including Noh theater and striptease, and visit relevant venues.
• Research historical perspectives on relationships, sexuality, nakedness, and female and queer performance.
• Develop a movement practice informed by research findings, adapting methods of practice and performance to align with the local context.
• Connect with individuals with shared interests to foster potential long-term collaborations.

Activities during the residency

I began my residency with an open question: How do the spectator and their context influence the performer and their performance?

Focusing on two key moments in Japanese history — the Meiji Restoration and the 1940s-1950s — and on themes of nakedness, eroticism, and striptease performance, my research expanded into several related areas.
I visited strip theatres in Tokyo and beyond, practiced Noh dance and singing, and spoke with people who, through experience or study, deepened my understanding.
Following various recommended paths, I became increasingly aware of how histories are shaped by dominant voices and traceable proofs.
Exploring underground spaces and gathering stories from multiple angles reinforced my wish to transform this research into a physical, transient performance process — one that embraces ambiguity and cannot be easily captured or pinned down. 

Overview of the residency

The residency generated a range of information, new contacts, and deeper insights into cultural and societal contexts. Through talks, observation, reading, and practice, I explored performances in unconventional spaces to better understand and challenge my own personal and professional conventions.
While preparing for the Open Studio, I realized that much of the material I gathered was not easily suited for conventional exhibition formats. This prompted me to rethink presentation as part of the research itself. I ultimately chose to present the project as a dialogue, offering keywords from my research as conversation starters with visitors.
These exchanges led to new stories, perspectives, and reinforced my interest in art as a tool for meeting, reflecting, and dialogue.
The residency has directly inspired my upcoming work, with a first showing at the Forecast Forum in Berlin (July 2025) and a premiere at BIT Teatergarasjen, Norway (December 2025). I hope to present it in Japan in 2026. 

Creator Information