Unconscious Education

In this performance, Ayakamay portrays the environment she grew up in, using physical education as a symbol for Japanese’s values and codes of conduct. She uses two other individuals to represent the idea of the group and embody the collective dimension of her ritual-like performance. Together, they perform repetitive actions, borrowing movements from Radio calisthenics, a Japanese method used in schools as a warm up for physical activities. However it is the moral purpose of that practice she emphasizes in Unconscious Education : to build moral sense and consolidate group unity. Lining up according to their height, stepping forward and backward altogether in a mechanical fashion, the three women express the intransigent organization of society and its reflection in individual’s lives.

Unconscious Education #006, 「我々は無意識な教育に則り、背の順に列びます」 “Obeying our unconscious education, we line up according to our height” Silver Rag Fiber Paper, Edition of 7, 30.5″x41.5″x2″, 2015