Today, many Japanese artists live and work (or have lived and worked) abroad, for example in Germany, UK, the Netherlands, USA, and so on. The reasons they stay in a place other than Japan are diverse, such as having studied in an art collage there, participating in a residency program, or simply finding the place ideal for them to pursue their artistic career.
What is common, however, is that their identities have undergone some sort of transformation since they left home, becoming different from those of Japan-based Japanese artists, which can be seen from their perspectives and ways of thinking. This transformation is, of course, also embodied in their works, giving them similar characteristics that are somewhat transnational, and can be called, so to speak, "Hybrid Japonism".
With a focus on this tendency, the screening program Many people ask me, "Don't you miss Japan when you live abroad?" is the continuous project showing video pieces that we, an artist-duo whose own artistic activities started and still are taking place in Germany, collect from other Japanese artists whom we met/will meet abroad. More artists will be continually added.
(Mai YAMASHITA + Naoto KOBAYASHI) |