Dirt DJ @ lumbung radio Helsinki, September 2023

bacilli

Dirt DJ

bacilli (Shotaro Yoshino, Yoshitaka Nanjo & James Jack; based in the archipelago of Japan) listen closely to the energy of microorganisms inside the soil in Zollverein—what do these bacteria inside of land say to us? In this residency we layered geological research on coal memories, oral histories with residents in Ruhr on what gives them energy today and connecting power circuits with imaginative thinking.

Dirt DJ shares artistic methods for harvesting alternative energy that heightens human awareness of other species. Currently this is taking the shape of radio programs including a track released on lumbung radio (hyperlink: https://lumbungradio.stationofcommons.org/) and a new album cover that will appear in the Thailand Biennale (hyperlink: https://www.thailandbiennale.org/). We continue to search for ways we as humans can live synergistically together with other species living in earth.

Link to Dirt DJ: version two sound file here (embed into image as well please): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hkgtxwbt7qxvwdkny6t01/DirtDJ_2_20230827.mp3?rlkey=8p7hxd5019obavu52nnrq4frp&dl=0

https://pixelache.ac/events/forum-pixelache-x-lumbung-radio

“Soilstory” @ Oku-Noto Triennale 23 Sept – 12 Nov 2023

Soilstory – つちがたり –

Tools, images, relics, video and dirt

Variable dimensions

“We created this work focusing on the voices of historic objects. Research conducted on the local farming ritual “Ae no Koto” along with memories, dialogue and exchanges with local residents and relics obtained from diverse collections are integral parts of this “Soilstory” installation. Two live performances were held during the triennial simultaneously online and in person to work creatively with distances between people and things during a pandemic, thus in the retelling of soil stories spaces for shared wishes towards the future emerge.”

奥能登国際芸術祭2023
最涯の芸術祭、美術の最先端。

会期|2023年9月23日-11月12日
会場|石川県珠洲市全域 247.20k㎡

Soilstory –つちがたり–

民具の声に焦点を当てることをテーマに作品を展
開。「あえのこと」や土の記憶などのリサーチや
現地の人々との対話、また大蔵ざらえで得た「も
の・証拠」を素材に、インスタレーションを行
う。舞台では、パンデミック中の人やモノとの距
離感を縮める祭事をコンセプトとしたライブを行
う。共有する願いを物語とすることで未来の理想
的な社会を浮かび上がらせる。

https://www.suzu-stm.jp/museum.html

“In the Elements” @ Kentler International Drawing Space

VIEW FILES: In the Elements
Curated by Sallie Mize
in conjunction with In the Elements: Selections from the Kentler FlatfilesNovember 11 – December 18, 2022ARTISTS: Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez, Chris Gonyea, James Jack, Ellen Kahn, Hilary Lorenz, LUCE, Kate McGloughlin, Margaret Neill, Jaanika Peerna, Josette Urso

The VIEW FILES are a publicly accessible, interactive flat file unit located in Kentler’s front gallery space. Visitors are invited to open and explore the drawers, revealing artworks related to the exhibition on view. This initiative offers direct engagement with the Flatfiles, gives added exposure to artists, and adds an element of surprise to our shows.

THE KENTLER FLATFILES
The Kentler Flatfiles have been an essential element of Kentler International Drawing Space since its founding in 1990. A collection of over 2,000 artworks by 290 local, national and international artists, this living archive represents the incredible breadth and diversity found in contemporary drawings and works on paper today. Selections from the Flatfiles are regularly presented in guest-curated exhibitions at Kentler and in traveling shows.

Flatfile works are held on consignment in Kentler’s showroom and are available to the public for viewing and purchase. “Focus on the Flatfiles” is a rotating selection of works on view in our front gallery space. To schedule a viewing appointment in our Flatfiles showroom or inquire about prices, please contact the gallery.

The Flatfiles Digital Archive, providing full online access to the collection, was awarded an ArtWorks grant by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2015.

https://kentlergallery.org/Detail/exhibitions/531

 

 

“Fragrances of Soil” @ Art Week Kinan, October 2022

bacilli
Artists James Jack, Yoshitaka Nanjo, Shotaro Yoshino form bacilli as caretakers who nurture active spaces for living with dirt, people, food, microbes and spirits. Commencing in 2014 as “World Dirt Association,” the artist collective has evolved into the form of “bacilli” (Bacillus genus of bacteria)growing exponentially from 2022. Their dedication to artistic infusions of taste, touch, scent and more grows together with local collaborators in diverse places based on a shared love for land. As their evolutionary path expands, symbiosis is diversified through interesting mutants discovered in the collaborative creative process. Selected Exhibitions 2015 Water and Land Festival, Niigata 2016 S.Y.P. Art Space, Tokyo 2017 Ichihara x Art Mix, Chiba 2018 Yame Remix, Fukuoka 2020 ART FOR THOUGHT, Tokyo 2021 Oku-Noto Art Triennale, Ishikawa 2022 Setouchi Triennale, Kagawa

 

 

bacilli × Caravansarai -Fragrant Soil-

An event to feel and experience the stories and memories of places associated with soil using the “five senses”. The event is a collaboration between “bacilli,” a soil art unit led by Kinan resident Nanjo, and Tanabe’s French restaurant “caravansarai.” They will bring soil from citrus farms in various areas of Tanabe City, as well as fruits and roots, to enjoy the differences between them.

Date:Saturday, October 15, 2022, 17:00-18:30
Artist:bacilli、Caravansarai
https://kinan-art.jp/en/info/9507/

Aiwaso
28-24 Furio Tanabe City Wakayama, Japan
https://www.aiwaso.jp/
Open 10:00 〜 17:00
*Please note that the opening hours have been changed on October 8th and 9th due to venue maintenance. From 10:00 to 15:00 on October 8th from 11:00 to 17:00 on October.

https://kinan-art.jp/en/info/9929/

“Composting Knowledge” @ lumbung: documenta fifteen

Its participants are active in the creation of such actions through their own unique perspectives that embrace cooperative, non-hierarchical, neighborhood centered principles. Composting Knowledge aims to build a supporting system for these initiatives to cooperate in engaging and critical ways.

Currently the composting network reunites over twenty participants from Kassel, Tokyo, Sofia, Holualoa, Singapore, Beirut, Zurich, Toronto, Stockholm, and London, who are engaging with own capacity and pace in the spread, research and activation of the topics exchanged within the network by challenging their own practice, involving local communities and institutional partners.

The network is growing. Current members are:

  • Färgfabriken, Stockholm
  • Global Art Practice, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
  • ICA-Sofia, Sofia
  • James Jack & Donkey Mill Art Center, Hawai’i
  • Myvillages, Rural School of Economics, London/Rotterdam/Berlin
  • YCAR (York Center for Asian Research), Toronto
  • Dorothee Richter, Ronald Kolb: OnCurating.org & Postgraduate Programme in Curating, ZHdK
  • knowbotiqs, Zurich
  • Sandra Schäfer, Joseph Rustom, and students, Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich and Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, Beirut

Quote by ruangrupa:

“Composting is growing. It’s a process which calls for a change in our understanding of the subject of knowledge, an uncontrolled mutation of ingredients, which transcend a cartesian or logical system in the production of experiences, and facts but instead transform every material collected in fertile soil for our community. As the water is part of every living being and primal, juicy engine for the rotting activity, so the compostable transformation is nourished by every idea, intervention, activity and contribution by withdrawing from disciplines and one-sided knowledge and expertise forms. Each person is welcomed to participate as a cultivator, contributing with awareness to a multi-ingredients compostable practice. The material for a florid mixture is brought from friends, are those guests, one-time visitors, students, researchers, from all corners of the globe, each one will be a grower and harvester of an abundant, yet non-definable knowledge pot. For the shared growth of yet unknown knowledgeable terrains we invite you to contribute to this compost pot.”

“Dirt Restaurant” @ Setouchi Triennale 2022

Setouchi Dirt Restaurant

bacilli

(James Jack, Shotaro Yoshino & Yoshitaka Nanjo)

Fall 2022

A new artwork based on storied flavors of dirt on Takamijima with research on Megijima, Shodoshima and other islands in Setouchi. Video released during summer triennial season in Takamatsu and Tadotsu along with event held in fall season 9 October on Takamijima. Trailer preview available here stay tuned for additional details on the Setouchi Triennale website and YouTube channel.

作品No. [E17]

bacilli

瀬戸内の「土」を味わう

土の研究や土食文化の発信をおこなう南条嘉毅、James Jack、吉野祥太郎によるコレクティブが構想中の、瀬戸内の「土」を食べる前代未聞のプロジェクトを紹介するイベントを開催。

※詳細は決まり次第HPにてお知らせします

https://www1.setouchi-artfest.jp/en/artworks-artists/artworks/takamijima/465.html 

Composting Knowledge: The Open Bin 11 March – 16 June 2022 Zürich

COMPOST – The Open Bin (Composting Knowledge)
Collective-driven, process-based performative exhibitionary project

This communal exhibitionary project – a sequential and choreographed series of interlocking events on the topic of “Composting Knowledge” – offers an evolving programming at the OnCurating Project Space (Ausstellungsstrasse 16, Zurich) both on-site and online from 10 March to 17 June 2022 with one and more events taking place every week and weekend (Thu 6pm / Fri 8pm / Sat 7pm) for 14 weeks.

 

Statement
For documenta fifteen (2022), Jakarta-based collective and lead Artistic Directors ruangrupa initiated an international and collaborative network for alternative knowledge production named the “Composting Knowledge” network, (in which institutions and initiatives such as Färgfabriken, GAP Tokyo, ICA Sofia, JJ and Donkey Mill Art Center, Knowbotiqs , Myvillages, YCAR Toronto take part. ruangrupa’s “Composting Knowledge” is an active experiment to imagine alternative terrains for knowledge production and sharing, taking place in collaboration with ruruHaus, the main activity house in Kassel, and a wide range of institutions, initiatives, practices, collectives and individuals around the world. The idea is to envision possible supporting systems for institutions to cooperate and engage in critical ways, by exploring questions and learning  from different perspectives, practices, traditions, and backgrounds – breaking at the same time canonical and privileged knowledge systems.

Following the process-based and communal methodologies proposed by ruangrupa, we will gather our own “Open Bin” and fertilise the soil for composting ideas and proposals at the OnCurating Project Space. Within our “COMPOST – the Open Bin” programme, various activities will come into contact, ideas will be displayed, discussed and digested, a shared process will be activated, and a space of transition will emerge.

As a curatorial group, we understand “Composting” not only as the natural or direct contact transformation process of digestion/fermentation/composting, but also as a cultural and political articulation, as ways of self-sustaining, of reflecting upon epistemologies, and creating new formations of joyful resistance.

The project invites diverse artists and collectives to come together with the aim to explore composting practices (literally and figuratively) and to share moments. Thanks to the modular structure proposed by Zurich-based artist duo Stirnimann-Stojanovic, the various events – social in nature and in all sorts of forms – will consist of screenings, dinners, roundtables, exhibitions, performances, talks, to bebe open and accessible to all in a hybrid format for its whole duration.

Composting is growing. It’s a process which calls for a change in our understanding of the subject of knowledge, an uncontrolled mutation of ingredients, which transcend a cartesian or logical system in the production of experiences, and facts but instead transform every material collected in fertile soil for our community. As the water is part of every living being and primal, juicy engine for the rotting activity, so the compostable transformation is nourished by every idea, intervention, activity and contribution by withdrawing from disciplines and one-sided knowledge and expertise forms. Each person is welcomed to participate as a cultivator, contributing with awareness to a multi-ingredients compostable practice. The material for a florid mixture is brought from friends, are those guests, one-time visitors, students, researchers, from all corners of the globe, each one will be a grower and harvester of an abundant, yet non-definable knowledge pot. For the shared growth of yet unknown knowledgeable terrains we invite you to contribute to this compost pot.”

Giulia Rossini and Tyuki Imamura on behalf of Compost Network

 

“Soilstory: Returning” Live Performance 4 November 14:30 JST

世界土協会「土がたり:返す」開催

Dirt Collective “Soilstory: Returning” Release

2021年11月4日(木)、スズ・シアター・ミュージアム「光の方舟」展示アーティストコレクティブ、世界土協会によるパフォーマンスイベント「土がたり:返す・Returning: Soilstory」を開催します。

珠洲・シンガポール・フランスでのパフォーマンスを合わせて「土がたり・迎える」というライブイベントを、奥能登の農耕儀礼である「あえのこと」をもとに、現在身近に存在しているもの・こと・人・神に感謝を表すパフォーマンスとして再構築する試みです。
芸術祭開幕後9月5日に開催したパフォーマンス「土がたり:送る・Welcoming: Soilstory」では「過去」という意味で行い、会期中はインスタレーションにて「現在」、そして今回は、芸術祭閉幕に合わせて、「土がたり:返す・Returning: Soilstory」 という「未来」を表します。来場者の方のみならずオンラインでの参加者も含め、共に今の時代においてのモノに感謝するという自然な行為を体験して頂く時空間を作ります。

皆様のご視聴、ご来場をお待ちしております。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjBR2sGipWI

【開催概要】
日 時 11月4日(木)14:30~15:30(日本時間)※各回60分程度 自由に出入り可能
場 所 スズ・シアター・ミュージアム「光の方舟」(珠洲市大谷町2-47 旧西部小学校)

https://oku-noto.jp/ja/news_047.html

“Interdependencies” exhibit open 21 August – 16 October at ICA Singapore

 

 

TROPICAL LAB 15: INTERDEPENDENCIES

21 August – 16 October 2021

Institute of Contemporary Art Singapore,
LASALLE College of the Arts

Brother Joseph McNally, Project Space,
Praxis Space and other locations at
McNally Campus

Impacted by the pandemic, the 15th edition of Tropical Lab takes place as an exhibition.
The title of this edition – Interdependencies – is less thematic and more reflective. It captures
the spirit of togetherness, companionship, peer learning, and resilience that defined all
previous editions of Tropical Lab, and it speaks in multiple ways to the current moment.
Twenty-five artists who participated in different editions of Tropical Lab between 2005 and
2019 were nominated by faculty from partner universities. The artists have generously shared
their recent work and initiated new projects. The exhibition stretches beyond gallery spaces,
highlighting the special relationship Tropical Lab participants have had with LASALLE’s
campus, which was integral to their exchange, learning and artistic production.
Tropical Lab was initiated in 2005 by Milenko Prvački. An experiment in arts education and
artistic exchanges, this two-week intensive art camp has welcomed over 500 art students in
Singapore over the past 15 editions.

 

 

Artists:
Ali Van, Anne-Laure Franchette, Ben Dunn, B. Neimeth, Brooke Stamp, Christine Rebet,
Danielle Dean, Di Liu, Duy Hoàng, Hariyo Seno Agus Subagyo, Homa Shojaie, James Jack,
James Tapsell-Kururang, James Yakimicki, j.p.mot Jean-Pierre Abdelrohman Mot Chen Hadj
Yakop, Kay Mei Ling Beadman, Laura Hopes, Marko Stankovic, Pheng Guan Lee, Rattana
Salee, Sarah Walker, Shuo Yin, Tim Bailey, Tromarama, Waret Khunacharoensap

Curator:
Anca Rujoiu

Tropical Lab:
Milenko Prvački, Founder and Senior Fellow, Office of the President
Sureni Salgadoe, (Projects), Office of the President

Institute of Contemporary Art Singapore (LASALLE’s ICAS):
Ramesh Narayanan, Manager (Operations)
Mohammed Redzuan Bin Zemmy, Executive (Exhibitions)
Sufian Samsiyar, Senior Executive (Exhibitions)

Production (new works):
Jezlyn Tan, Project Manager, Circus Projects