Subbing The Subbing
2016 Made in Bangkok, Thailand
Work format: Video installation (Dimension variable)
Materials: 2 TVs
Introduction:
In Spain, there is a town inhabited by people with the surname Japón, which means Japan in Spanish.
400 years ago a group of Samurai traveled to Europe for some missions.
During their journey, Christianity was prohibited in Japan and some of the Samurais decided to remain to live in Spain to live as Christian. Those named Japón in the Spanish town today are regarded as possible descendants of the Samurai from history.
The work EL JAPONÉS aligns the artist himself as a “Japanese person who just came from Japan” and Mrs. Japón as a “descendant of historically the first migrant from Japan”.
The dialog itself looks like a simple praise of communication but the two juxtaposed "Japanese" people imply and ask different notions such as "nationality", "race" and "immigrant integration".
Special thanks: Mr. and Ms. Japóns whom I met in Coria del Rio
" "
2022 at Doubutsuen-mae Shopping street, Osaka, Japan / 动物园前商店街（大阪）/ 動物園前商店街（大阪）
Work format: Performance recorded with iphone screen recording / 苹果手机录屏 / iphone画面録画
Materials: tarpaulin / 防水布 / ターポリン(2000 x 3000 mm / 1750 x 1500 mm) , any monitor / 电视监视器 /モニター
FABLE(S)
(Una fábula / 寓話)
2016 - 2017 Made in Spain and Japan
Work format: Video installation (Dimension variable)
Materials: Projector, rear projector screen, monitor
Above: The Kyôgen Play Utsubo Zaru (The Monkey's Quiver) by Hokusai
Introduction:
FABLE(S) is a dialogue/trilogue between a monkey and two persons who don't have a language in common.
The monkey and the persons are mutually exotic, creating two layers of linguistic (im)possibilities: one dialogue between two humans, and another between two humans and a monkey.
The image looks like a contemporary version of El Greco's Una Fábula, while at the same time looking like Utsubo Zaru (The Monkey's Quiver) from Kyōgen, Japanese traditional comic theater.
Thus FABLE(S) reinterprets, or rather imitates superficially, these two references at once in order to tell a new fable out of two contextually different ones.
Una fábula by El Greco in 1580
Supported by:
TOKAS (Tokyo Arts and Space)
MATADERO MADRID (El Ranchito)