Sakiko Yamaoka

 

 

Artist. Tackles issues of nomadism, travel, urbanity, public space and emotional transition through a largely site specific form of expression. Her work focuses upon performance, video, photography and installation. In her solo woks she raises the sense of the marginal, which in her participatory works she gives rise to the sense of complicity. In the majority of her work there is a driving earnestness yet this may also be felt as a particular humour. Before the age of 20 she had moved around the country over 15 times and as an artist she has pursued her practice across over 20 different countries, leading her to a particular interest in geopolitics. In Japan she has led the projects Art of Begegnung and Site-specific "aktion" in Yokohama, while overseas she was invited to join the renowned “National Review of Live Art” in Glasgow in 2007. She has previously participated in dislocate in 2008 and 2010.

 

 

 

 

Plan

 

The first time I came to know the phrase common sense was during my history studies at junior high school. “Common Sense” was the title of the pamphlet produced by Thomas Paine in 1776 in support of American independence. This phrase is interpreted as meaning “to be sensible, to hold a practical sense”. For me this contains a rather political and educational message, however in this dislocate project one may find a different meaning combining “common” and “sense”,  sharing a sensation or awareness, allowing it a flexibility.

   This project brings together artists from India and Laos, a curator from the UK who has lived in Japan for 5 years, a team of young staff and myself. In this short encounter perhaps the easiest way to share common sense if through laughter, fun and sympathy. However it is not this form of determined harmony which I am interested in, I wish to pursue a renewal of a common sense which we have not been aware of up until now,  like Thomas Paine“raise a curtain upon a new world”. While at the same time this appears as if in a dream, fading like fog, in the manner of a spirit. Either way if this process involves not the application of art, but the inspiration of art then this is something I want to challenge towards.