Introduction:

 

The series “(im)possible dialogue” is one of Yoshida’s most essential artistic practices.
It has been presented both as a performance and as a video installation. The setup is simple: two people talk to each other. The only rule is that they do not share a common mother language.

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At first, a conversation between two people speaking entirely different languages seems impossible.
Yet as the exchange continues, the two monologues begin to resonate.
Moments appear in which a form of communication—one that does not rely on semantic understanding—briefly comes into view.

This simple structure reveals the many layers of communication,
where misunderstanding—and even not understanding—can live within the dialogue and still coexist beyond cultural and linguistic boundaries.
From within that coexistence, a kind of “understanding” that is not based on linguistic meaning begins to take root.

 

The performance is often done one-on-one between Yoshida and a participant, without any recording.
The absence of a shared language creates an unexpected freedom: at times leading to candid confessions, and at other times developing into philosophical exchanges reminiscent of Zen dialogue.

 

Instead of relying on a dominant or shared language, the work creates a space of linguistic fairness, where both participants remain fully within their own languages and cultural backgrounds.
In this space, new forms of encounter and relationship can emerge.