Akiya

In Akiya, a reel-to-reel tape recorder plays a song that tells a contemporary story of the increasing number of abandoned houses and buildings in Japan in the ancient style of Noh, a traditional Japanese theatrical form. The work does not show images of uninhabited buildings, but serves as a conceptual starting point for the work. The lyrics of the poem are translated to archaic Muromachi period (1333-1573) Japanese. It is based on current newspaper articles and poetic fragments, metaphysics and peculiar humour, giving character and personality to the voice we hear. The work is shot on 35mm film consisting only a single shot: showing an analog reel-to-reel tape recorder playing back the song against a neutral background. The song is associated with the machine rather than the human. The performer becomes a machine and the machine becomes a performer. The work creates a future mythology or a dialogue between past and present by juxtaposing the traditional storytelling form with a contemporary interpretation of the current phenomenon of desolate houses. Installation version (2019) also available.