The Power of the Unseen

Time, Sound, Resonance, Ecosystems, Social Bodies, Bonds and Life

This is an era in which technology blankets the entire world and all societies, and underlies people’s cognition and behavioral patterns. Until this point, we took technology for granted as a mere tool, but now we live in a world where unperfected technology interacts with itself so rapidly as if it were mutating into something we have no control of. As humans lose their grip on technology, we are being questioned about the meaning of life as human beings.

Without exception, we are all now aware that modern civilization is being shaken by what we cannot “see,” such as the overly standardized social system which lacks diversity and tolerance, and the vulnerability of our overcrowded cities, in their constant pursuit of greater efficiency. There are no spectators. It’s time for us to start the Digital New Deal.

The previously unseen forces of time, sound, resonance, ecosystems, social bodies, bonds and life have also brought new sensations to our inherent cognitive powers. Knowing that we can now perceive the world by using all the functions of our bodies, we can receive wisdom, have the courage to live, and perceive those areas of human life that are unchanged. The time has come to redefine the world itself under these new conditions.

We will be introducing winners from the Japan Media Arts Festival, by exploring the work of artists and practitioners who continue to express the signs of change in society. We will also highlight various collective activities in the industrial world that go beyond the boundaries of art.

TOMURA Asako
Director of Garden TOKYO, Japan Media Arts Festival Overseas Promotion
September 2021

Video

AVATAR ROBOT CAFE DAWN / Ory Yoshifuji (JP), Credit: Garden Tokyo

AVATAR ROBOT CAFE DAWN / Ory Yoshifuji (JP), Credit: Garden Tokyo

KEHAI: Liquid Mirror Series – Square / Kaito Sakuma (JP), Credit: Garden Tokyo

AVATAR ROBOT CAFE DAWN / Ory Yoshifuji (JP), Credit: Garden Tokyo

AVATAR ROBOT CAFE DAWN / Ory Yoshifuji (JP), Credit: Garden Tokyo

The Power of the Unseen / Japan Media Arts Festival, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (JP), Credit: Garden Tokyo

The Power of the Unseen / Japan Media Arts Festival, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (JP), Credit: Garden Tokyo

Chosho Hakkei in Rittor Base – HPL ver, evala (See by Your Ears)

VR Theater Prometheus Bound, Credit: Meiro Koizumi

AVATAR ROBOT CAFE DAWN ver.β, Credit: Ory Laboratory

Ether – liquid mirror, Kaito Sakuma, Credit: Fukuko Iiyama

ZurückWeiter

AVATAR ROBOT CAFE DAWN ver.β

Ory Yoshifuji (JP)

Avatar Robot Cafe ist ein soziales Umsetzungsprojekt zur Entwicklung von \“OriHime, \“einem Avatar-Roboter, der von Menschen mit eingeschränkter Mobilität bedient werden kann und Menschen mit Behinderungen unterstützt, Arbeitsplätze zu haben. Wir präsentieren Fragen und Lösungen für eine Gesellschaft, in der die Beschäftigung von Menschen mit Behinderungen nicht ausreicht. Begleiten Sie uns bei der Vorführung und erfahren Sie mehr über unser Cafe und seine Ursache.

KEHAI: Liquid Mirror Series – Square –

Kaito Sakuma (JP)

Mit der Isolation durch COVID-19 sind wir zu abhängig von dem geworden, was wir auf Monitoren sehen, wir haben die Möglichkeit und die Fähigkeit verloren, das Unsichtbare wahrzunehmen. Die Menschen werden die Geräusche des Spiegels hören und vielleicht das gleiche „Kehai (Zeichen)“ wahrnehmen. Dieser Spiegel kann eine neue Art der Kommunikation sein. Dieses Projekt wird die Natur der Kommunikation erforschen, die nonverbal ist und allen Lebewesen gemeinsam ist.

Chosho Hakkei in Rittor Base – Live Performance ver

evala (See by Your Ears) (JP)

“Chosho Hakkei in Rittor Base – HPL ver,” which won Prix Ars Electronica 2021 Digital Musics & Sound Art Honorary Mentions, originated from three works presented in the sound exhibition ”Chosho Hakkei”‘ held in 2019 at Nakazu Bashoen Garden and Marugame Museum of Art in Kagawa Prefecture.

Video documentation of “Prometheus Bound”

Meiro Koizumi (JP)

Inspired by the Greek tragedy “Prometheus Bound,” this work is an experiential theater piece that uses VR/AR technology to develop the tension between technology and human society, which has been altered in various ways in civilization.

Hybrid exhibition “Algaphon”

Harpreet Sareen (US/IN/JP), Franziska Mack (DE/US), Yasuaki Kakehi (JP), Yasuaki Kakehi Laboratory, The University of Tokyo (JP)

Algaphon is a hybrid installation where algae bubbles that ring at minnaert frequency near algal filaments are rendered audible through a hydrophone. Online visitors can leave a voice message that is translated into photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) variations in a remote aquarium.

VR theater, “Prometheus Unbound” Ars Electronica 2021 Garden TOKYO ver.

Meiro Koizumi (JP)

The VR theater piece „Prometheus Bound,“ which premiered in 2019, created an experience that placed the audience between two extremes: virtual and real, euphoria and awakening, transcendence and limitation of the physical body. The online version of the new VR work, a sequel to the previous work, will be revised and exhibited as Ars Electronica 2021 Garden TOKYO ver.

Online Talk featuring Ory Yoshifuji

Speaker: Ory Yoshifuji, Ory Laboratory Inc. (JP), Masato Nagahiro (JP), Moderator: Maholo Uchida (JP)

Ory Yoshifuji developed OriHime, an avatar robot, based on his own experience as a teenager to solve solitude as the theme of his life and developed a series of prototypes to meet the motivations of users. He will talk about solitude, bonds, and how the world can be changed in this talk session.

Online Talk featuring evala

Speaker: evala (JP), Jiro Kubo (JP), Moderator: Asako Tomura (JP)

A sound artist evala explores sound design not only in a sense of composing music along the time axis, but in a spatial composition. In the talk we will also review his works from the past through his latest award-winning creations.

Architectural Informatics Society

Architectural Informatics Society (JP)

As a platform where diverse and advanced theories, technologies and industries intersect, AIS will promote the dissemination and development of technologies and knowledge through the sharing and dissemination of information on the latest technologies, cross-industry and cross-disciplinary exchanges and human resource development, while looking at the evolution of the positioning of architecture itself as a more fundamental consciousness and broader concept, rather than the superficial application of informatics to the field of architecture.

Audio Game Center

DDD (Disability Driven Design) Project (JP)

Audio games are created from sound and played with sound, unlike video games where visual information is essential. The project explores the possibilities of experiences created by sound using various media and venues, such as holding game centers in real places, hosting “Prototyping Party”, a hackathon to develop new games with various creators, carrying out online distribution and podcasts.

METACITY

Ryuta Aoki (JP)

METACITY is a research team that explores the form of a “possible city” through thought experiments and prototyping. Currently they are working on collaborative projects with an art collective creating alternative tea ceremony The TEA-ROOM, WIRED Japanese Edition, a volunteer engineering group Dream On, the 4D fabrication lab Hiroya Tanaka Laboratory, and the MIT Media Lab City Science Group, a laboratory specializing in city science.

Quasicrystal

Ken Furudate (JP), Hosoo (JP)

Quasicrystal is an R&D project by Ken Furudate , an artist, engineer, and musician, and Hosoo, a long-established Kyoto Nishijin weaving company, focusing on the fundamental component of textiles, the weave structure.

Synecoculture and Augmented Ecosystems

Masatoshi Funabashi (JP)

Synecoculture shifts food production, which accounts for most of the loss of biodiversity, from a small scale to an activity that builds up the entire ecosystem. Without the use of any plowing, fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, hundreds of species of useful plants are planted together in a dense mixture and grow by utilizing the self-organizing power of the ecosystem.

Hakko Department (Fermentation Department)

Hiraku Ogura (JP)

Miso, soy sauce, sake, and koji are fermented foods that are indispensable to the Japanese diet. Hiraku Ogura is a fermentation designer who aims to make the microorganisms visible through design. In collaboration with brewers and researchers across Japan, he has developed a few projects on the theme of fermentation and microorganisms, including product development, production of picture books and animated films and workshops.

Credits

Director: Asako Tomura
Artist (Live performance): evala (See by Your Ears)
Artists (Online Exhibition): Meiro Koizumi, Ory Yoshifuji, Kaito Sakuma, Yasuaki Kakehi Laboratory (The University of Tokyo)
Moderators and speakers: Asako Tomura, Maholo Uchida, Jiro Kubo, Masato Nagahiro