Tokyo Geidai AAI Special Project:“Masking/Unmasking Death” 3D Archive (Matterport)
「Masking/Unmasking Death 死をマスクする／仮面を剥がす」展
Matterportアーカイブ
The Matterport digital twin version of “Masking/Unmasking Death,” just like the actual in-person exhibition, includes photographs of people who fell victim to the coup d’état and the subsequent military violence in Myanmar as well as their personal information, such as the cause of death. In this online exhibition, the links placed on the floor by the masks jump to PDFs of each person’s data. Some parts of these files contain descriptions concerned with death or violence. Please keep the above in mind when viewing the exhibition. In addition, these personal files consist of information which was collected by the artist from various online sources, and subsequently collated and presented by the organizers. Please refrain from saving or taking screenshots of the PDFs, saving the text data, and posting or sharing them on social media and other media platforms.
“Masking/Unmasking Death” was a special exhibition that was held in May 2022 at the Chinretsukan Gallery of the University Art Museum at the Tokyo University of the Arts as part of the Tokyo Geidai AAI (Asia Art Initiative). Now we are making its 3D archive, powered by Matterport, open to the public.
“Masking/Unmasking Death” is an exhibition showcasing the project of an artist in Myanmar, Kamizu, brought about through the cross-Asia theatre project titled TERASIA: Theatre for Traveling in the Age of Isolation, developed by faculty members, students, and alumni of Tokyo University of the Arts.
From 2017 to 2020, Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo Geidai) have undertaken collaborative initiatives with the Lacquerware Technology College of Bagan and the National University of Arts and Culture as part of the Inter-University Exchange Project (ASEAN category). These opportunities to experience each other’s cultures of art have strengthened the ties between the universities as well as the participating artists. However, in 2020, crossing international borders became difficult with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Then in February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup d’état. While the Coronavirus disease raged on and its impact increased in severity, the citizens called for democratization and protested against the junta. The military responded with repeated acts of violence and suppression, and many people have died in the movement. Now, more than a year later, there is still disorder in Myanmar.
Since the coup d’état, Kamizu has been creating masks modeled on the faces of the citizens who were killed during this time. In present-day Myanmar, in which various kinds of freedom have been taken away from its people, the mask—a covering that can protect its wearer in anonymity and guard against the virus—functions as a symbol of life against death. These masks form a lasting record of lost lives and a requiem in prayer for their peace. At the same time, the artwork seeks to “unmask” the truth of their deaths.
Click here for the “Masking/Unmasking Death” Exhibition Website.
Special Footage
In addition to the 3D archive using Matterport, there are two special videos created for the exhibition available for viewing online.
■ Hsaing Waing Special Performance “ကြုံသလေဘုံဘွ 多生の縁 Kyonthalay Bonbwe”
Hsaing Waing is Myanmar’s traditional musical ensemble. Kyojun Tanaka, a TERASIA-participating artist who has researched the performance methods of Hsaing Waing at the National University of Arts and Culture in Myanmar, gave a solo performance of the traditional song “ကြုံသလေဘုံဘွေ” on the Maung hsaing. In the 360-degrees immersive video, you can enjoy the music in the atmosphere of the exhibition space.
Performance: Kyojun Tanaka / Audio recording: Miho Miura, Nao Nishihara / Videography: Ryohei Tomita / Concept: TERASIA
■ Post-event Talk with Haruka Iharada (curator), Yukari Sakata, Maho Watanabe (co-producers)
“Masking/Unmasking Death” Outline
Dates: Sunday, May 1 to Tuesday, May 10, 2022 (open all days from 10:00 to 17:00)
Venue: Chinretsukan Gallery, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts
Organizers: Graduate School of Global Arts (GA), Tokyo University of the Arts Yoshitaka Mori Lab, Tokyo University of the Arts Global Support Center (Tokyo Geidai AAI), UPN, Ltd.
Supported by: Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), Kao Foundation for Arts and Culture
Archive production cooperation: Tokyo Geidai Art DX
For further details, please see the website for the “Masking/Unmasking Death” Exhibition.（https://terasia.net/en/projects/exhibition-mask-2/）
Tokyo Geidai Asia Art Initiative (AAI)
Tokyo Geidai AAI (Tokyo Geidai Asia Art Initiative) is an initiative that was undertaken by the Tokyo University of the Arts from the academic year 2021 to 2022, in partnership with various Asian countries, in order to inherit and sustainably develop the arts and culture of Asia from the standpoint of arts-and-culture education and research, launching numerous hands-on projects. It holds symposiums, workshops, events, exhibitions, and other projects under the theme of “arts and culture in Asia.”
Tokyo Geidai AAI website: https://aai.geidai.ac.jp/