“Phantosia” by Eugene Studio / Eugene Kangawa at The National Art Center, Tokyo (Special simultaneous screening: Alter — Images and film by Eugene Studio / Text by Ken Liu)
Phantosia is an installation centered around Noh theatre performed in complete darkness.
It was presented as an invitation-only event over two days, on January 21 and 22, 2019.
Immediately following Phantosia, a special one-night screening of Alter was held. The work was created through an unusual process in which Eugene Kangawa first produced moving images and photographs, after which American science fiction writer Ken Liu developed the text and screenplay. A limited-edition booklet was distributed exclusively for the event.
Overview (excerpt from the exhibition handout)
Phantosia is an installation in which Noh is performed in complete darkness.
Presented in absolute darkness and silence, the performance draws out infinite possibilities of imagination precisely because it cannot be seen.
*“Phantosia” is a coined term combining PHANTASIA (a Latin term referring to an imagined space) and PHANTOM.*
For this presentation, either Izutsu or Nue—both works in the tradition of dream Noh established by Zeami—was performed in a half-Noh format.
During the first few minutes, the waki (the character representing the real world) appears just before sunset. Then, as the nochi-shite (the spirit appearing in the dream world) emerges, true darkness arrives.
Pre-Talk
Eugene Kangawa (Eugene Studio) × Tsuyoshi Tane (Architect)
Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2019 / 18:00–19:00
Venue: The National Art Center, Tokyo, 3F
Phantosia
Performance: Izutsu
Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2019 / 19:10–
Venue: The National Art Center, Tokyo, 3F
*Half-Noh / Shite performer: Teruhisa Oshima*
Noh Collaboration: Teruhisa Oshima (Kita School Noh Shite Performer) / Hiroshi Adachi / Odawara Art Foundation
Organized by: Goldwin Inc.
Dates: January 21 (Mon) – January 22 (Tue), 2019
Venue: The National Art Center, Tokyo
Media Coverage
WIRED ｜ Seeing the Invisible: Phantosia
“Strangely enough, as viewers gradually become accustomed to the darkness and their initial confusion fades, they are undeniably ‘seeing’ Noh. Through sounds that move from left to right, near to far, and emerge before them, audiences begin to unmistakably ‘see’ concepts taking form in space. (…) In Phantosia, one can vividly experience how chanting—an auditory form of information—constructs Noh three-dimensionally within the darkness. (…)
The visual poem that followed, describing nature through words filled with beauty and intelligence, ultimately expressed the entirety of human activity from the past to the present and into the future. If Phantosia represents the pinnacle of an art form that uses language through chant to make the invisible visible, it seems fitting to conclude with a phrase from Alter:
—Our most powerful technology is language, and it is the most natural of all tools.”
HONEYEE.COM ｜ Seeing the Invisible: Phantosia
“Ame-no-Uzume, the female deity said to be the origin of theatre and performance traditions including Noh, appears in both the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki. Through her dance, she lured Amaterasu out from the cave where she had hidden herself.
Amaterasu emerging from the cave symbolizes the sun rising within darkness.
In this way, Phantosia reaches far beyond being merely a visually and aurally new experience—it extends deeply into the foundations of Japanese culture.”
Image of Phantosia
Installation [2018, Square space, some people] ©THE EUGENE Studio