Place of Residency
De nieuwe Domijnen Sittard, NL
Born 1993 in Osaka, based in Kyoto, Mizuki Kajihara graduated from Kyoto University of Art and Design (Kyoto University of the Arts) in 2016 and received her MA from the same university in 2020. Major residencies include ARCUS project (Ibaraki, 2022), Cité internationale des arts (Paris, 2021), exhibition "Not so slow, but not so fast." (KUNST ARZT/ Kyoto), group exhibition "FIERLD WORK" (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum).
Especially interested in western classical music, Mizuki Kajihara creates works by decomposing and reconstructing correctly assembled musical scores through physical experience. By reinterpreting symbols with other informations, the artist explores new ways of connecting classics and current times through music and possibilities in contemporary artistic expression.
BWV1068
2018
installation
video (7min), music score
variable size
Boler
2021
installation
a picture scroll
video (13min)
variable size
simple and soft, but not so slow
2019
sound installation
variable size
Discipline
site-specific installations
Sweet Dreams
2023
installation
diary, video (49min)
variable size
Kallinikeio Municipal Museum of Athienou, Cyprus
Mizuki Kajihara has developed her artistic practice by conducting research into music rooted in various local communities. At the heart of her interest is how information and memory are passed from person to person, and how they change in the process.
Among the many forms of musical transmission, folk song stands out as a particularly important subject. Oral traditions take many forms—such as folktales or children's games— but she focuses on song because of its highly fluid nature: it is difficult to capture precisely, and yet it has been documented through a wide range of methods.
Because of this, a song’s role and meaning within a society can shift depending on how it is recorded and the perspective from which it is approached.
Kajiharas research often begins with a simple question posed to local residents: “Do you know any songs that have been passed down in this area?” Of course, many folk songs have already been documented in books or recordings, and these archives are readily accessible. However, her goal is not to collect these materials. Rather, she places greater value on exploring how such songs continue to live on in people’s memories and bodies, and what unconscious influence they may still exert today.
In her residency project she would like to begin with a workshop that explores new forms of “movement,” using the research described above as a starting point. To carry this out, she will first establish a shared “goal” with participants—something simple and concrete, such as walking around a tree or following a path.
For example, traditional work songs, which synchronized bodily movements with rhythm to improve the efficiency of labor, are fundamentally rooted in collaboration and the sharing of rhythm. In today’s world, where everything is mechanized and optimized, Mizuki Kajihara believes there is great value in revisiting the question of what it means to do something together.
From there, she will work with participants to explore different approaches to achieving the shared goal—raising our voices, moving our bodies, and building relationships. These processes will be carefully documented, with the aim of eventually presenting the outcome in the form of a publication or an audiovisual work.
Discipline
site-specific installations
Sweet Dreams
2023
installation
diary, video (49min)
variable size
Kallinikeio Municipal Museum of Athienou, Cyprus
Mizuki Kajihara has developed her artistic practice by conducting research into music rooted in various local communities. At the heart of her interest is how information and memory are passed from person to person, and how they change in the process.
Among the many forms of musical transmission, folk song stands out as a particularly important subject. Oral traditions take many forms—such as folktales or children's games— but she focuses on song because of its highly fluid nature: it is difficult to capture precisely, and yet it has been documented through a wide range of methods.
Because of this, a song’s role and meaning within a society can shift depending on how it is recorded and the perspective from which it is approached.
Kajiharas research often begins with a simple question posed to local residents: “Do you know any songs that have been passed down in this area?” Of course, many folk songs have already been documented in books or recordings, and these archives are readily accessible. However, her goal is not to collect these materials. Rather, she places greater value on exploring how such songs continue to live on in people’s memories and bodies, and what unconscious influence they may still exert today.
In her residency project she would like to begin with a workshop that explores new forms of “movement,” using the research described above as a starting point. To carry this out, she will first establish a shared “goal” with participants—something simple and concrete, such as walking around a tree or following a path.
For example, traditional work songs, which synchronized bodily movements with rhythm to improve the efficiency of labor, are fundamentally rooted in collaboration and the sharing of rhythm. In today’s world, where everything is mechanized and optimized, Mizuki Kajihara believes there is great value in revisiting the question of what it means to do something together.
From there, she will work with participants to explore different approaches to achieving the shared goal—raising our voices, moving our bodies, and building relationships. These processes will be carefully documented, with the aim of eventually presenting the outcome in the form of a publication or an audiovisual work.