Shohei Miyachi - Untitled Performance Piece

Untitled Performance Piece

My performance piece derives from the discomfort I experience in navigating contemporary society’s expectations. The work reflects a decade-long personal struggle from my upbringing in a conservative Japanese family to the liberated lifestyle I embraced in New York to my return to Japan and subsequent recurring feeling of otherness.

Hiding my identity in a black full-bodysuit, I stand in front of the audience. Hundreds of prints sit on the floor, and I see my face on each of them. I look up and sense the presence of the people around me. I can barely see their facial expressions through the bodysuit. That helps. Crowds always give me anxiety. All attention is directed to my body, but I feel free. Freed from all the social restraints and communal pressure, my body starts interacting with the prints of myself. I’m both exposed and concealed in this performance. How exciting is it? My body moves, and the prints get crumpled and torn. This is a conversation. A kind of conversation no one can really hear. It is physical and visual. I ask the prints many questions through rubbing, grabbing, tearing, and punching. They do not answer but only receive. This tactile experience allows me to express my inner self. I become more aware of my own gestures of anger, confusion, and acceptance. But I don’t know how to finish this conversation. It is endless. I can only leave the damaged prints behind and step out of the space. They continue the unfinished conversation with the audience.

2021 - Present

Untitled Performance, Video documentation, December 13, 2021, The Container, Tokyo