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​Talk with Artist

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Talk with Artist1: Yoshinori Niwa “Possession and Subversion”

Date: Sunday, May 19th, from 2:00 PM

(Please take 13:15 ferry from Meinohama port to Noko Island)

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Location: Yukayugetsu,  Noko, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka City

(Direction will be noticed by email after you sent the form)

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Participation Fee: ¥500

Beverages and light snacks will be provided.

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Artist: Yoshinori Niwa

Discussant :  Hitomi Hasegawa

Moderator: Kazuki Saito

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Yoshinori Niwa, currently residing in Vienna, Austria, and serving as the inaugural artist-in-residence at the newly established YukaYugetsu on Noko Island, Fukuoka, will engage in a dialogue about his artistic practice and creative process. Niwa's works are currently being showcased at the Yokohama Triennial.

Many of Niwa's project titles are extensive and explanatory, resembling manifestos. Despite their seemingly nonsensical nature, his works delve into counter-productive actions performed by the artist himself, ultimately transforming them into works of art.

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Initially eliciting laughter from the audience, Niwa's projects gradually reveal profound inquiries into the global system, prevailing norms, and fundamental beliefs of our society. Examples of his projects include bringing one's own book to a bookstore and purchasing it again, repeating currency exchanges until their value nears zero, enlisting Itako (Japanese shamans) to summon the spirits of past mayors for discussions with the current mayor, and selling the naming rights to a garbage mountain in the Philippines, among others.

 

I believe that Niwa's intent appears to be to subvert the capitalist system itself(?)  He has also explored series of projects related to well-known communist leaders and dictators such as Lenin, Marx, and Hitler. These topics sometimes touch upon taboos and evoke traumatic experiences among citizens, leading Niwa to encounter numerous obstacles and challenges during the realization process. Incorporating these issues and the reactions of people, the artist meticulously documents his work using intentionally amateurish moving images. Through these works, Niwa seeks to explore the core of generalized concepts.

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Following the artist talk at Kyushu University, we will delve deeper into discussions about production processes and the background of artworks in a dialogue format (question and answer) while streaming images.

On 10th May, there is a talk and screening at the Kyushu University in Ohashi. The information is Here.

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Join now:

https://forms.gle/FxFYk8pdHgfeNS498

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photo by Yelena Maksutay, 2023

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Profiles of the artist and speakers

Yoshinori Niwa 

Born in 1982. Niwa lives and works in Vienna, Austria. His works all bear self-explanatory, slogan-like titles, and are executed primarily on the street and in public spaces, experimenting with actions and propositions and exposing the systems of exchange that drive contemporary society. His work has been exhibited internationally; recent exhibitions include “8th Yokohama Triennale” (Yokohama Museum of Art, 2024), “Bucharest Biennale 10” (Bucharest, Romania, 2022), “Disposing of Hitler. Out of the Cellar, Into the Museum” (House of Austrian History, Vienna, 2021), “Time for Outrage! Art in times of Social Anger” (Kunstpalast Museum, Düsseldorf, 2020), “steirischer Herbst“18” (Graz, 2018), “Setouchi Triennale 2016” (Naoshima, 2016), “MAM Screen 005: Niwa Yoshinori Selected Video Works” (Mori Art Museum, 2016) “Historically Historic Historical History of Communism” (Edel Assanti, London, 2015), “Our Beloved World” (Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, 2015), “Aichi Triennale 2013” (Aichi Arts Centre, etc, 2013), “Roppongi Crossing 2013: Out of Doubt” (Mori Art Museum, 2013),“Double Vision: Contemporary Art from Japan” (Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Haifa Museum of Art, 2012). His work is included in international collections including the KADIST Foundation, Paris/San Francisco, the Otazu Foundation, Spain, Wroclaw Contemporary Museum, Wroclaw, Mori Art Museum and Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. https://yoshinoriniwa.com/ 

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Profiles of discussant:

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Moderator

Kazuki Saito, Art Planner

 

Born in Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture in 1982. Studied the basics of contemporary art production at the Department of Arts at Tama Art University. After graduation in 2005, gained experience in various fields such as Universal Studio Co. Japan, event production companies, theater production, and urban development projects. Moved to Fukuoka in 2009. Engaged in art activities while working at a web consulting company. In 2016, established independence with Chihiro Tanaka and began planning and operating art exhibitions at galleries. Since 2019, working as an art planner, involved in various projects related to creating art spaces without a specific location. Currently serving as the residence coordinator at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, supporting invited artists' residency productions and research.

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Discussant

Hitomi Hasegawa, Curator, researcher

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Born in Fukuoka City, currently residing in Hong Kong and Fukuoka. Curator. Holds a Ph.D. from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (Austria), studied at Konstfack (Sweden), and Keio University, received a master's degrees.

       Past exhibitions include "IN BETWEEN ISLANDS" (various locations in Naha, 2022), "Everything You’ve Ever Wanted is On The Other Side of Planet" (2020, Franz Josef Kai 3, Vienna), "Knock –Moving Images from Asia, Screening and symposium" (2017, MMCA National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul), "There is no such thing as Society,” Symposium, screenings and performance(2018, Para-Site art center, Hong Kong), "Invisible Cities" (2017, Crow Museum of Asian Arts, Dallas, TX), "Unburnable -Chim Pom Solo Exhibition" (2017, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas TX), Setouchi International Art Festival (2012–2016, Ogijima), among others.

Co-author of "Curating As Feminist Organizing" (2023, Routledge, London) and "Radicalizing Care" (2022, Sternberg Press, Berlin,), among others.

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