By SHIMIZU Miho

One day, my friend HIRATSUKA Shinichiro came to London and did a series of collaboration with WOON Tien Wei. Both these artists have never met before, though having a common interest, such as art, they got along very well. Naturally through their first meeting, they decided to collaborate and produce a series of work to commemorate this chance meeting.

This performance piece was performed in the Refectory, an eating place in Goldsmiths College.

“WAKARIMASUKA” can be divided to several sections. First, they entered the space from each side; one from left, one from right, and greeted each other in the middle. It was lunchtime and they were surrounded with many students who were unsuspectingly sitting and chatting while they were having their lunch.

Shinichiro and Tien started to sit and converse. While conversing both artists were using language dictionaries. Japanese English dictionary (written in Japanese) for Shinichiro and English Japanese dictionary (written in English) for Tien. Both of them wear similar clothes, like a uniform and pulling a trolley with boxes on it. It can be seen as their desire of trying to be closer in appearance. The uniform also suggests that both artists are workers for something. It can be interpreted as they are working for a big company called “Art”. Aiming to complete uncompleted artworks in the daily life.

Both of the artists proceeded into a discussion about something. Tien using Japanese to communicate to Shinichiro and Shinichiro using English to communicate with Tien. Each artists using their foreign tongue to communicate with the other’s familiar tongue.

The dictionary became their ‘bible’.

In addition to the dictionary they use drawings and gestures to discuss what they are going to make today. They were both carrying boxes on a trolley, which contains materials to be used for today’s work. They showed what they had brought and they started to produce an artwork together.

The outcome of the artwork was very unique. A bucket was placed on the top of a sheet of paper, full of writing and drawing. A toothbrush, a leaf, rope were attached to the object. I was amazed when Shinichiro started to brush the bucket with his toothbrush.

They came up with an idea of this performance when they went to pub without the translator (me), one night. (Tien is Singaporean who is Chinese English speaker. He never attempted to learn Japanese before. Shinichiro is Japanese who is Japanese speaker, and speaks a little English.) They tried harder than before to communicate by using English, Japanese, and drawing, gestures and so on. Later, I heard that they could not understood most of what each other were trying to express. But I believe that they could still communicate something that was not translatable by a translator.

The performance was produced over a short period when Shinichiro was in London.

I want to see it as a sketch, which can be developed further in the future. It was hard for people at the place to understand about the performance. People could not really hear what two of the ‘workers’ were talking. They couldn’t really identify what was going on. There were some elements that could be developed more.

I believe the work was not about whether you really understand one another or not, but the fact that there was an effort, an attitude towards knowing each other.

What dose “understand” means? Even if we are from same country, using same language, sometimes we can not understand each other. In the performance, Shinichiro and Tien were asking each other whether the other understands or not by looking each other’s eyes.

Shinichiro asks, “ Do you understand?”

Tien answers “wakarimasu”,

or sometimes “ wakaranai”………………………

HIRATSUKA Shinichiro: Studying at Tokyo Art university. Working on several projects. Recently he did a performance in Singapore with his Japanese friends and a Singapore artist, Dennis Tan. He has been organising the “shelf gallery”, a mobile gallery, and also involved in “the friends that we have never me” project by SHIMIZU Miho. (Mail art project that links between artists in London and Tokyo)

WOON Tien Wei: Singaporean artist. Studying at Goldsmiths College in London. Founder of an art forum “Footbridge to all platforms”, and has been organising many projects both in London and Singapore. Practice concern is art and life, and deals with alternative spaces, such as Danger museum and the shelf gallery.

Private conference 7^th to 9^th August

Exhibition in Kwanhoon Gallery 11^th to 17^th August

Kwanhoon Gallery: Chong-ro Gu, Kwanhoon Dong, 195