The various rains converge on the sea(2021) at Julio Fine Arts Gallery

Wires, metal, natural material, Edison bulb, amplifiers, speakers

800 x 1200cm (Gallery Space)

https://www.julioartgallery.com/yoshinakamura

-Four Sound instruments-

Rain Score

Noh Masks

Drawing for Musical

Initial Plan(Drawings and concept)

 Video 

This experimental theater and concert is modeled on the Noh outside theater due to a cultural influences heavily connected to sound and space.Traditional Japanese music is less theoretical, or written (there are no concrete scores) than classic western music, thus ideal for the improvisations I intend to orchestrate.

My plan is to invite 12 people both hearing and deaf people to play music representing the12 different sounds of my speech therapist for my cochlear implant. The invited will not rehearse. AsJohn Cage once said“improvised musicians, even audience members can perform without preparation.”. 

The instruction: Express the water cycle, the rain, river and ocean. 

Musicians can see my score but also discuss with each other how they want to play. Hearing people hear sound and deaf people feel vibration from sound instruments and wires. The key or ultimate goal is to make a bridge between sound and vibration.

This concert supports the idea that eventually we will find a common understanding between deaf and hearing people because we are human beings after all. Together we are made of the same stardust.

Noh mask

The 12 masks are molded translucent silicone, resin and a mirror and the mask will create an illusion view when people wear them on their face.This is based on experience of a visual function, a deep and narrow view in circle shape as my deafness. Actually, I could compare the different eyesight between deaf and hearing after getting my cochlear implant8year ago. The performance musician may focus their feeling of vibration and sound by limiting visuospatial abilities by wearing the masks.

The size isaround8 inch x 6 inch and that is quite close to the actual size of Noh Mask. It is important to put the lower jaw on the lower part of the mask to express emotion. It will give a feeling blended with the human and the mask like a ghost. Further, to exaggerate fusion, the traditional Noh masks are made smaller than the actual Japanese average of a human face. 

In addition, the traditional Noh mask has all emotions including Anger, Joy, Sad and pleasure.The surface of the mask is created on-emotion such as non-life, but the mask can express a stronger life and emotion on the surface by using a lighting spot. That is ambivalent and the subtle change can create various expressions.So Intentionally Removed the eye, nose and mouth to emphasize the concept and then chaotically mixed some colors and gloss powder.

Four sound instruments and wires

There are many rains, at least over one hundred different kinds of raineach season, spring, summer, autumn and winter in Japan.After that the rain becomes the river and runs to the sea. The water cycle implies our diversity and unity in this project.To express the sound of rains, four sound instruments and wires built with wood, stone and metal. I Also Refer To Four elements (fire, water, earth, air) and Japanese historical art to form the shape in order to create the rich sounds.

Moreover, I Use a blue bulb and LED to give a dramatic scene around the sound instruments.The color expresses a silent world and the dark atmosphere could refer to an ancient Japanese ritual. It is intended to evoke a primitive emotion stemming from memories deep within the subconscious. Actually, I expressed a deep blue painting during my undergraduate program in Tokyo back in 2009. In this painting, many shine from butterflies implied sounds in the space of animistic spirit. In other words, the musicians can access countless gods of sound.

Drawings for scores

The wall, a display of drawings: aWhite and Black series and a Color series. Theyalso serve as scores for people to make music with. In this performance, the scores are justhintsandplayerscan create a new communication with each other. 

The White and Black series refers to a traditional water and ink painting.The ink wash painting has a concept, “black has five colors” meaning all colors and its inclusiveness is designed to stimulate the imagination of many colors and colors into sound. The paint brush expresses water and noise. A smoky expression visualizing deep foggy space and the mistin ancient Japanese paintings.

The Color series is based on my sound experience. After I received a cochlear implant, I had a complete change in my audio, visual, and temporal perceptions due to the phenomena of synesthesia which altered my sense of time and space, resulting in the experience of sound in many colors. This was especially true of pink, which came to represent my hearing because the color relates to the reds, and there were many, in my Japanese painting during my master’s program in Tokyo.In this exhibition, I use not only pink,but also yellow, whiteand other colors to represent my synesthesia.