(1) Artist Talk “Les Hommes du Désert: Voices by the Sea” + Screening “IF I WERE YOU” – The Cross-Border Collaboration of Photography and Moving Image
A video talk with contemporary artist Eiko Yoshizumi (based in Kyoto) and Polish-born, London-based animation director Izabela Bartosz, co-creators of the video installation Les Hommes du Désert: Voices by the Sea. They will discuss their shared use of the sea as a recurring motif, the animation technique of expanding countless photographs into moving images, and the nature of cross-border artistic collaboration.

The screening features IF I WERE YOU (2016), a stage piece presented in the form of a fashion show, co-created by Yoshizumi and London-based artists during her time in the UK — premiering in Japan. Philosopher Koya Sasaki joins as guest speaker to discuss themes of coexistence embedded in the work, born in pre-Brexit London, a city culturally enriched by immigration. The talk reflects on the future of multicultural Kyoto in comparison.

(2) Artist Talk “Les Hommes du Désert: Voices by the Sea” + Sound Performance “Voices by the Sea – Seeing the Voice, Hearing the Voice”
A live modular synth improvisation performance by musician Molecule Plane (Yuki Otsuka), based on field recordings of the seashore at Kotohiki-hama in Kyotango, the filming site of Les Hommes du Désert. The performance also incorporates recorded readings of Yoshizumi’s poem Ebb and Flow, inspired by the local history of Kotohiki-hama and Tango.

The exhibition features ambient ocean sounds captured at the same location by sound artist Ikuko Morozumi. The event invites visitors to experience contrasting interpretations of the same place through sound art. The talk session will explore themes such as field recording experiences, the layered meaning of the word “voice (聲),” and the creative language shared between visual and sound expression.

[Event Details]

(1) Date: Saturday, May 3, 2025
Doors Open: 16:30 / Start: 17:00

(2) Date: Sunday, May 4, 2025
Doors Open: 16:30 / Start: 17:00

Capacity: 20 people

Participation Fee: ¥2,000 per session
Reservation: Priority given to reservations. Walk-ins accepted.
Please contact: eikoyoshizumiartlab@gmail.com
Reservations required by the day before each event.

A reception party will be held after each session.