Choy Ka Fai, A Pilgrimage, 2016, Kamaitachi Museum, Tashiro, Japan, 2017. Courtesy the artist.
Driven by his interest in exploring the conditions of the human body, multidisciplinary artist Choy Ka Fai focuses his research on choreographic practices in Asia. The wind that cuts the body presents his current investigation into Butoh, which arose in Japan at the end of the 1950s, encompassing a diverse range of techniques from dance, theatre, and movement. Choy traces the legacy of one of the key founders, Tatsumi Hijikata (1928–86) who sought a new form of physical expression he referred to as ankoku butō (“dance of darkness”), delving into imageries of the grotesque and sickness of the human form. The research presentation will feature a selection of reference materials from the Tatsumi Hijikata Archive in Tokyo and from the artist’s expeditions, interviews, and documentary sketches. In his pursuit, Choy went to the extent of interviewing the spirit of Hijikata through an itako (Japanese shaman) and to speculate on the technological possibilities of dancing with Hijikata again.
Venue: NTU CCA Singapore, Block 43 Malan Road, Gillman Barracks
When: 13 Oct - 10 Dec 2017,
By: NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA Singapore)
