MONKEY 2018

In 2018, I was selected for an artistic research residency in the Tokyo region of Japan. My research project consisted of an anthropological observation of contemporary Japanese culture and its relationship to ritual, with the aim of composing a performative work.

Monkey is a walking performance around the Meiji-jingū Shrine, culminating on the temple’s southern axis.

It serves as an analogy for the condition of a society whose foundation can fracture at any moment, where all structures rely on mechanisms that enable it to maintain balance. In Japanese society, whether at the level of the environment or the individual, people carry and endure challenges with resignation, as geographical, cultural, and economic constraints often prevent remedies. In such a context, agility and flexibility—whether physical or mental—take precedence over brute force and obstruction.