KIAC

Black darkness in a theatrical space, red darkness of a darkroom, white darkness in the snowstorm.
Rie Uomori, a lighting designer with interest in the multidisciplinary research on light and shadow, will conduct research and practice on site about “darkness”. In the Onsen streets of Kinosaki, she will search for how to positively approach the “darkness”, which is often avoided in urban life.

During the residency, the participants will conduct nighttime landscape fieldwork, research the lighting culture of Kinosaki Onsen, reconsider such works as Junichiro Tanizaki's "In-ei reisan" and Masao Inui's "Should the night be dark?" and study whether it is possible to reverse the light work conducted in lighting classes and workshops into the dark. will also ask "Is it possible to make sightseeing in the dark?" and explore the possibility of making proposals for the current situation where the nighttime landscape of cities is lightened.

As a community exchange program, a program to think about and experience the significance of "darkness" in artistic expression and daily life with participants will be implemented. The program will include talks in the dark with guests, experiments with light using the theater's lighting, and exchanges over a meal in the dark, followed by an outing to a hot spring resort town at night in search of various lights.

＜Artist's messege＞
This project is an event that puts us in the darkness of the theater to reconsider the necessity of darkness and gloom for expressive arts and human life.
As lighting designers, we will conduct light workshops to stretch our perception of "seeing/visible/perceivable".
Then, we will spend some time in the darkness and gloom of the theater and share various experiences together.
It is a warm activity to refine the rich perception that people have and to reconsider the age of over-emphasis on visual stimuli.
After leaving the theater, everyone is invited to take a walk around the town to observe the beautiful nighttime scenery of the Kinosaki spa resort area.

Rie Uomori