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EYEWITNESS DESCRIPTION: |
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Yoshiko Matsuda (in an email to Fado) In Wind doesn't blow branches, Mimi Nakajima dealt with the theme of the unknown, which is an essential quality of human life. She revealed her great trust toward life: "In daily life, there are things you want to do. Often you don't know how it should be done. You try anyway and do your best, ending up often doing something totally different from what you had intended. Nonetheless the effort you put into it is the same." Mimi's attitude is neutral and sound. It reminds me of the sure-footedness of the baby's unsure footing. She does not ask for explanations or meanings. Fearless. No whining over uncertainty. No sentimentality. Not knowing whether or not she can do what she intends, she exerts the same amount of effort. This was evident in the way Mimi carried a heavy chair on the wall from one corner to another, and back. Or in the way that she tried to increase the volume of a VCR, pointing the remote controller ahead, walking literally blinded around the room. It was as if she didn't even ask if she could make it. Like a baby learning to walk, she just did it, and did it again, without knowing the outcome. At the same time, she showed her compulsive urge to get somewhere on time. These two elements of Mimi's performance -- the human condition of not knowing and the human nature of feeling the urge to get somewhere on time -- did not conflict with each other. They simply coexisted. Aesthetically, the space was used to the maximum. She sat on the chair and turned herself, drawing circles on the floor. Then her body traced arbitrary crisscrossing lines through the room as she walked blindly, pointing the VCR remote control. Colourful lines moved constantly on the TV screen. She drew folded lines on the wall with the rolling wheels of the chair and on the floor with her slow steps. She laid on the floor on her back and jogged, leaving foot prints at the bottom of the wall. The VCR provided the organic soundscape to hold the performer and audience together: the sharp sound of her low heels running on the pavement, and her breath. The rhythmic breathing from the VCR echoed with Mimi's slow breathing in the space. I noticed my own breathing, and it too joined the rhythms. The performance ended with a stamping sound, like a big dot, as she dropped the chair. Mimi walked away from the chair to the centre and bowed. Mimi's performance was a beautiful synthesis of movement, auditory, and visual components with philosophic wisdom. Mimi presented it with a lightness of heart and groundedness of footing. |
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Mimi Nakajima's performance Wind doesn't blow branches was presented as part of Fado's International Visiting Artist series (2002) in conjunction with the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art. |
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