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Art/Photography

Nadegata Instant Party (Toru Nakazaki + Daigaku Yamashiro + Tomoko Noda) presents ENJOY ZOU-NO-HANA 2014 Elephant Shutter Chance ~Yes, Cheese! Photo gallery for one day only

Nadegata Instant Party(中崎透+山城大督+野田智子)presents ENJOY ZOU-NO-HANA 2014 エレファント・シャッター・チャンス ~はい、チーズ!一日限りの写真館~

 
A one-day event held the other day "ENJOY ZOU-NO-HANA 2014 Elephant Shutter Chance ~Yes, Cheese! ``One Day Only Photo Gallery~'' was a sunny day when Randy the elephant from Ichihara Elephant Country and a total of 15,000 visitors gathered at Zou-no-Hana Park on the day of the 155th anniversary celebration of the port's opening.
The scene of elephants suddenly appearing in the paved Zou-no-Hana Park, where various relationships are intertwined but without cages or fences, created an illusion of extraordinary life, perfect for a day of celebration.
At MAGCUL.NET, we asked Toru Nakazaki, Daicho Yamashiro, and Tomoko Noda of Nadegata Instant Party, the artists who proposed the project, with the question in mind how this project came to be. It hit me right after the event ended.

Nadegata Instant Party

The cameraman releases the shutter in response to the "signal" of Randy the elephant breaking a kusudama ball. The photo shows the test and the presentation of the photo to the group that was actually taken. Is Randy taking a photo while breaking Kusudama? Is there a cameraman taking pictures? Or could it be said that the elephant handler accompanying Randy was taking the photo? It was a pleasant event with a mysterious view of various layers overlapping.

- Was the idea of inviting elephants to Zou-no-hana Park this time a suggestion from Nadegata Instant Party (hereinafter referred to as Nadegata)?

Nakazaki: Well, by the time we got the call, we had already decided to call the elephant.
On the other hand, as the organizer, how did you decide to call in the elephants?

Zou-no-hana Terrace staff: In 2012, we launched an exhibition called "Enjoy! Zou-no-hana - How to play with Zou-no-hana", and have utilized the creativity of artists such as Yasuhiro Suzuki, Noboru Tsubaki, and Artist Unit Me. We have proposed ways to play that are unique to Zou-no-hana Park. It's Zou-no-hana Terrace, and we've wanted to invite elephants for a while, but this year is also the 5th anniversary of the opening of Zou-no-hana Terrace, so it's overwhelmingly a special program for "Enjoy! Zou-no-Hana 2014." We thought it would be possible to create a special day spent with an elephant by inviting a real elephant with a strong presence to the elephant's trunk as a guest, and once the staff put all their efforts into making adjustments in various areas, it became a reality. .

- So, what was the reason for calling the elephant and asking Mr. Nadegata to organize the event?

Zou-no-hana Terrace Staff: As part of the 5th anniversary event of Zou-no-hana Terrace, this time, we will not only be inviting elephants, but will also have people who were there witness the mysterious scenery and events where real elephants are in Zou-no-hana Terrace. We wanted to make this an initiative that would be shared and remembered for a long time.

``Create the perfect excuse for the occasion, and the excuse will change reality. I have seen their approach so far of "turning that process into a story," and I was wondering if they could create a public participatory work that uses a fictional day in which a real elephant is coming as an "excuse". That's why I made this request.

- However, it is new that Mr. Nadegata was invited under such conditions.

Nakazaki: We were also in an identity crisis, and when we were asked to call in an elephant, people would think that the artist was the one who came up with the idea of calling in an elephant. So, I thought a lot about what I could do.

- At this event, how conscious were you of "creating a work" as Nadegata? Is there a stronger idea of “direction”?

Nakazaki: After all, I'm worried about where I should turn my work into a work, and I don't actually know. While making this plan, I realized that the location of Elephant's Trunk looks like Yokohama, and the fact that there is an elephant in that location itself is a very mysterious landscape, almost like a composite, so it's a real elephant, but it's fiction. I guess you could say that by creating a stage set that looks like a place in the middle of nowhere, or a photo booth-style device where text is added to the photo, we were at least able to intervene as a work...

At first, I was thinking of a theatrical one-day production with high entertainment value, but if there was an elephant in that part, it would probably work even without us, so I didn't think about that at the final stage. I thought it wasn't a channel. Therefore, I proceeded in such a way that the photographs that were created during the commemorative photo shoot were themselves established as critical works.

Yamashiro: This place is really difficult, isn't it? It's a place where you can easily create a situation where there are no boundaries, and since it's an open, free space, everyone feels like anyone can come in, and what's more, it's a public place. Everyone feels that way, so when I thought about creating a special space here, I thought that everyone must be struggling. So, with Elephant being with us this time, we are able to enjoy the time a little more easily.

- Please tell us about the circumstances that led to this event.

Noda: As we talked, I think the conversation shifted towards what we would have the elephants do instead of having the elephants come and do something with them.

Nakazaki: Randy had given me a long list of tricks he could do...

Noda: That's right. There were stories like being able to get smacked, being able to do lifts, and things like that.
So I thought, why not give the elephants a role and do something with them?

Nakazaki: I thought it would be best if we didn't have to intervene as much as possible. I thought of this event as a one-off show that would last 2 to 3 hours, but I also thought that there wouldn't be any audience that would actually watch it the whole time.

Noda: I think we were conscious of making the structure itself pretty easy to understand, even for customers who just happened to come by and say, ``Oh, the elephant is the cameraman.''

Nakazaki: There was also a live performance called ``There's an Elephant'', and I was hoping that the resulting photo itself would be a mixture of virtuality and reality. Depending on how it's put together, there's a possibility that this movie or recording will be original.

- In the end, the biggest highlight is the photos and videos that come out as a result, rather than the day's events. Will such records be exhibited?

Noda: That's right. The photos taken this time will be exhibited from the 14th. *

Nakazaki: Also, the objects used as sets may be exhibited together.

*《Elephant Shutter Chance ~Yes, Cheese! Photo gallery for one day only~》Record exhibition
Date: June 14th (Sat) - June 29th (Sun) 10:00 - 18:00
Venue: Zou-no-hana Terrace

- Please give us your honest impressions after completing the event.

Nakazaki: When it comes to humans, I don't really understand them, but I think I understand them, and I want to understand them, but when it comes to elephants, I feel like I don't understand them, and I feel like I don't really understand them. I thought, ``There's no one close to me.'' (laughs) I thought it was good to feel this kind of existence close to me.

Yamashiro: It's true that the strategy of ``bringing in someone you will never understand'' might be interesting.

Noda: That's right. Living in a completely different dimension.

Yamashiro: Usually they are separated by cages, so it feels very strange to see the elephants in different worlds, but to see them in the center like this time, together.

Nakazaki: But when you say that, we're usually in a situation where we don't really understand each other, and it's easy to understand that, but we don't understand.
But it's not just something I don't like.

Nadegata Instant Party

Randy was surrounded by a variety of people, including people who happened to be passing by, people who came to see the event, and staff members who run the event, but he was completely unfazed. Its natural appearance transformed the extraordinary scene of ``an elephant by the sea'' into an even more mysterious space. Also, during the event, the moment when a large number of spectators were just staring at Randy's eating and bathing in fascination, there was an atmosphere filled with a sense of happiness that cannot be described in words.

- Do you have any plans to incorporate other people who don't understand each other into your work like you did this time?

Nakazaki: The work I made just the week before had a group photo as its motif, and this event is linked to that.

Noda: As Nakazaki-kun mentioned earlier, I wonder if the point of this project was the inability to understand the elephant. So I don't know if I'll use it as a method, but I think it's possible.

- I'm glad that there were no accidents at this event, but as the time is almost up, I would like to conclude this article with some final words.

Yamashiro: ...I'm really happy that I was able to direct a day like this (lol)

Nakazaki: Coexistence with others means taking an interest in things you don't understand and taking a step forward to interact with them, or art that allows you to accept that there are things you can't judge. I think it's similar to how fun it is, and I think today was kind of that kind of day. I think we were able to create that kind of place.

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[Editor's note]
In the story, there was an expression called ``I don't understand,'' but I still don't fully understand what that ``I don't understand'' means.
Although there were many people surrounding Randy, including artists, tourists passing by, participants, and related parties, the atmosphere of ``Randy is the usual Randy'' created an indescribable sense of happiness. "An incredibly strange sense of happiness" may only be understood by those who were actually there.

Nadegata Instant Party

Members of Nadegata Instant Party after the event. From left in the photo: Daigaku Yamashiro, Tomoko Noda, Toru Nakazaki

Nadegata Instant Party (Toru Nakazaki + Daikan Yamashiro + Tomoko Noda)

An artist unit consisting of artist Toru Nakazaki (born 1976 in Ibaraki), Daigaku Yamashiro (born 1983 in Osaka), and art manager Tomoko Noda (born 1983 in Gifu). We set up the optimal "pretext" for the location and situation in which the project is to be implemented, and create a single event into "reality" by involving many participants in order to achieve the purpose of the pretext. He creates stories about the process by which "reality" changes due to "pretexts," and develops his works by combining documents, theatrical techniques, and installations. His representative works include 24 OUR TELEVISION, a 24-hour internet TV station that involved over 100 citizen staff members and local media, 2010 (International Arts Center Aomori), and recent exhibitions he has participated in such as ``Country Road Show''. COUNTRY ROAD SHOW》“MOT Annual 2012 Making Situations, Editing Landscapes If the wind blows, the cooper shop will make money” 2012 (Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo),《STUDIO TUBE》“Aichi Triennale 2013” 2013 (Chubu Electric Power Honmachi Switching Station site), etc. There is. We are planning to participate in "Rokko Meat Tour 2014" which will be held in Hyogo Prefecture in September.

http://nadegatainstantparty.org/

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