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Bigakko Art School was established in 1969 as a liberal and experimental school of art education, uniquely aimed at developing each students originality and thinking faculty.
The Deakin Photography study group students were given the opportunity to participate in a class at Bigakko Art School Tokyo, led by Japanese artist Midori Mitamura, and were encouraged to collaborate on a conceptual project. This cross cultural exchange between Japanese and Australian students provided a forum for new ways of seeing and developing ideas.
Students from Bigakko Art School have each submitted a piece of work which evolved from their interaction with the "Australians".
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Typical Jesus or Divine afflatus This image is part of a series of portraits which capture Japanese perceptions of a typical face of Jesus Christ. Some are friends, whilst others were people met by chance, each asked to act as if they are the reincarnation of Jesus. |
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The Fox-Eyed Man The work constitutes both portrait and performance, words attached to the artists body representing experiences in their life. The performance piece sees the words then removed to restore the artist to himself with renewed confidence. |
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Next to you - Letters from Japan to You This project is “correspondence” based on photographs taken from the exchange session between Australian and Japanese students. We have come to live in what is described as a globalised society and yet I wonder if the distance between us has really been shortened. This project seeks to step away from virtual communication and uses the traditional postacard to format to make contact. |
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Pencil of Occurence Color melting in ice cubes accentuates the dissolving and chaotic process. A relationship between things and change is implied, things lingering in ambiguous states and mutating into something unknown or totally unexpected. |
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Waltzing Matilda This video sees the artisit playing paper Sumo wrestling to the rhythm of Waltzing Matilda, the popular Australian song theamed on loneliness and death. The paper Sumo wrestlers are cutouts of Australian students. Whilst seeking to be humourous it also looks to create a sense of place and feelings of despondency. |
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Declaration of Happy War - only Mona Lisa knows Hello Australia! This is a declaration of art war from two Samurai. This declaration should not be for a shameful and silly warfare, but for happiness. Whilst listening to both national anthems, the artists introduce Japanese cultures in poor English. |
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Recent facts in all likelihood When I tell someone about my nightmares, I love that indefinable feeling when I suddenly ask myself “was that a dream or was it real?” I often wonder if photography is as a record of memory and have used this medium to respond to my own physical unease with unconfident images. |
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Tokyo Karaoke 2011 Midori Mitamura Karaoke is one of the most popular international activities originating from Japan. When you cannot communicate with Japanese people, Karaoke helps you escape that “lost in translation” moment. On the final evening in Tokyo, Australians sang and danced to Karaoke, showing their cooperative spirit that is just like a Japanese soul. |
