Emile VAN HELLEPUTTE

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Emile VAN HELLEPUTTE

Participating Project	Exchange Residency Program (Creators from abroad)
Activity Based	Brussels
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2026.5 - 2026.7

Purpose of the residency

During my residency I will research the use of onomatopoeia in Japanese language — more specifically gitaigo, onomatopoeia that mimic non-auditory phenomena. I regard gitaigo as conceptually parallel to what I call acousmatic objects: silent objects that nonetheless imply or evoke sound. Both operate in the interstice between the seen and the heard, through imagination rather than direct perception. By engaging with the grammatical and sensorial sensitivity of Japanese, I aim to expand my understanding of how listening and language can be co-creative acts — acts through which we negotiate between the concrete and the imagined, the said and the heard.

Plan during the residency

• Engage with the local community to learn about and study the use of onomatopoeia in the Japanese language, specifically focussing on gitaigo - a class of onomatopoeia that evoke non-auditory states or sensations.
• Organise a participative sound investigation by means of sharing testimonies, listening sessions and recording.
• Research and experiment with different formats to present, both visually and sonically, the results of this investigation.

Creator Information