MIZARU is about life and death, and how the border between life and death exists everywhere. This border is happening every moment, we just don't realize it because it's hidden by so many things. The title, MIZARU, is the name of one of the three wise monkeys in Japanese culture, Mizaru Kikazaru Iwazaru, better known in English as See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil. The literal translation of MIZARU is "not to see." In our piece we aim to remove the curtains, look directly at our own mortality, and hopefully become more alive in the process.
There have been many variations of MIZARU, both installations and performances. The installation version is comprised of a large transparent structure/box, allowing all to see inside, nothing hidden. When one enters the structure one is presented with a white wall. Upon touching the wall, it comes to life, creating different worlds of visuals and sound, surrounding the user. This wall represents the barrier between life and death.
SamplesThe white wall is actually a piece of spandex stretched tight across a large frame. The spandex acts as a membrane sensitive to touch that people can push into and manipulate visuals and expressively play music. Once people go into the room and touch the spandex sheet this membrane suddenly springs to life with fiery visual patterns and music that shifts according to the depth and pressure of a person's touch. The projection can be seen on both sides of the spandex sheet, and seen from all directions outside the structure.
MIZARU has been shown at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Burning Man, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Telfair Museum, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Macy Art Gallery, Mesa Art Center, Megaron - The Athens Concert Hall Greece, Toronto International Film Festival, Nuitnumérique#16, SAFRA'NUMÉRIQUES 2019, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary, and many others.
Brooklyn Museum of Art - Performance
Concept: Kiori Kawai, Aaron Sherwood
Design/Direction: Kiori Kawai
Performance: Kiori Kawai, Masanori Asahara
Visuals, Programming: Michael Allison, Aaron Sherwood
Music: Aaron Sherwood
Video shot by Edwin Adkins
Thumbnail Photo: BKLYN1834
Burning Man - Installation
Concept, Design & Performance: Kiori Kawai
Concept, Music, Visuals & Programming: Aaron Sherwood
Visuals & Programming: Mike Allison
Architect: Xuedi Chen
Lead Build: John Capogna
Video: Tomochika Yano, Kaetsu Motomitsu
Photo: Momo Nakayama
Special thanks building team: Jack Kalish, Alexandra Diracles, Andy Sigler, Jun Kawai, Yusuke Danbara, Sarah Rothberg, Yotam Mann, Anne-Marie Lavigne, Adam Quinn, Aaron Vazquez, Noah Zerkin
Stage Performance: Prior to becoming an installation, MIZARU was developed by Purring Tiger as a stage performance for 20 dancers, in residence at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center.
Choreographer: Kiori Kawai
Composer: Aaron Sherwood
New media artists: Aaron Sherwood, Mike Allison, Johann Diedrick
Performers: Kiori Kawai, Masanori Asahara, Marjolayne Auger, Kanako Yokota, Emi Ueda, Hsiao-Wei, Hsiao-Ting, Prema Kelley, Laurence Martin, Tia Huston, Sammy Donahue, Kashimi Asai, Pavel Y. Machuca-Zavarzin, Ayaka Habata, Suzanne Beahrs,
Lauren Kelly, Shandoah Goldman, Arisa Kusumi, Peter Musante
Video shot by E. Adkins & C. Lopez
Photos by Momo Nakayama
*This piece made possible in part with funding from the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, the Puffin Foundation and Huawei.
Firewall: MIZARU was originally developed as an interactive media installation with Mike Allison called Firewall.