Oiwa
2023
Multimedia installation, 7 min
Red yarn, lace curtains, wood, washi
2 x 3,5 x 3,2 m
Camera: Karl Brasse, Marieke Peeters
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‘Oiwa’ is a multimedia installation that incorporates a film within a theatrical environment. This installation was the result of my residency period at Arts Itoya in Takeo, Japan. Using red yarn and Japanese lace curtains I created a hand sewn costume and sculptural pieces or props based on the visual iconography of Oiwa, the emblematic long-haired ghost that remains at the root of many Japanese horror media. The video is presented on a screen made from woven red wrapping paper. The film is projected onto the screen and the shutters of the exhibition space which isolates the ghostly figure into an obscure screen. Creating an environment that resembles a theatrical stage or a grainy tv screen. The sound that fills the space is made with recordings of the Takeo school bell whose eerie melody rings every day at 08:00, 12:00, and 17:00 through the city.
This work is the result of my research period in Japan into Japanese Kaiki eiga (weird films) and the rensageki (chain drama) performances from the 1910s. Rensageki are a Japanese hybrid of film and theater in which actors would perform interior sets scenes live and then screen the outside scenes on film. This method of performance emphasizes the mutual connection between theater and cinema and shows how they contain one another. After discovering this hybrid, I began to experiment with another form of presentation that would blend the cinematic and theatrical.
Generously supported by Amarte Fonds and Mondriaan Fonds.
