UENOYES 2019～Dive deep into the season of culture, at the city of diversity, Ueno

One of the Gers that had the longest queue of visitors is Kishin Shinoyama’s “Silk Road ” photo exhibition. Originally published in 1980, the series of photos that capture the continuity of culture from Japanese ancient capital Nara to Turkey through the silk trade route made a strong impression on Japanese people then. After 39 years, his work still fascinated many inside the Ger.

The select 14 prints explicitly showcased the scenery, culture and the faces of people living in Eurasian countries, connected through “silk road” even to the present day.

His work was originally published as a series of 8 books. It was re-edited into one as a part of Louis Vuitton “Fashion Eye” collection in 2018, which led to this exhibition. Inside the Ger, the visitors could look through the re-edited version.

Another photo exhibition was being held in a large white tent. Japan premiere of French photographer Charles Fréger’s “Elephant Festival”, capturing the annual festival in Jaipur, North India. Fréger takes an ethnological angle with a poetic approach towards his subjects, which are usually social groups of athletes, students and so on. His works on masked gods and demons rooted in Japanese culture gained critical acclaim in 2016.

In the Elephant Festival held every March, herds of colourfully decorated and painted elephants stroll around the city of Jaipur. The colourful decoration is the symbol of Spring festival, celebrating the revitalised life and return of the Sun. The embroideries of the colourful cloth and the paintings on the skin depict myths, prayers, and legends of the once prosperous.

Panels around the centre pillar provide explanations for the Elephant Festival. An elephant speaks as a navigator and guides the audience through the culture of the Festival and tradition of treasuring elephants.

“Silk Road Bunko”, based in “PAO COMPOUND” Higashi Nakano, the hub for nomad culture, popped up in UENOYES. Inside the Ger were exhibitions of archived materials as well as lectures to deepen the knowledge of Silk Road.

“Parplume” is an artist community led by artist Junichi Umezu. The inside was designed to look like a classroom or afterschool activity space, where demonstrations and talk events happened and inspired the audience with unbounded ideas.

“FLOATING NOMAD” creates townscape, engaging even passersby. “Coconobacco” was one of the fascinating tools for that purpose. The open-air sketching event capturing street performers modelling as outdoor statues welcomed anyone passing by to sketch. You could see the growing crowds around the models over time.

Some only noticed it was actually a human when the model moved. Some had fun drawing, others stopped for a while to enjoy the show, all sharing the moment and space together.

There were no rules as to who or how to draw. Each session lasted about 15 minutes until the model changed the pose, and you could see kids, adults and families simply enjoying themselves sketching under the blue sky.

What is a town festival without music? The band, FLOATING NOMAD ANONYMOUS, led by saxophone player/composer Hiroshi Suzuki took on the unmissable part. They played in front of the logboat used for “Holistic reenactment project of the voyage 30,000 years ago” and later joined the finale parade, bringing everyone together with the power of music.

Among many Gers built around, it was this Ger that stood out most. It’s hard to imagine what it was about from the name, but if offered something that was very unique and in alignment with the concept of UENOYES. Fashion designer/nurse Seiran Tsuno, dressed in black in the photo, initiated the project to create a nomad version of “Bethel House” which she works for, located in Urakawacho, Hokkaido.

“Bethel House” caters for people with mental disorders and special needs. Despite developments and progression of disorders may cause certain difficulties in leading daily lives for the residents, the staff encourage and place value in accepting these difficulties and learning to live with it.  Through the exhibition and the talk show inside the Ger, the visitors saw how the unique value came to play an important role in Bethel House. The latest study into “Ownership” where the owners of disorders study and become aware of their actions was also showcased as a highlight.

DOMMUNE, live streaming studio presided by contemporary artist Naohiro Ukawa, opened up a special “UENOYES” booth for those who wanted to join in the event from all over the world. Representatives for the Gers and staff from UENOYES gathered and shared their thoughts on “FLOATING NOMAD”. Being inside the Ger, you could see the talk being broadcasted live. Or else it was live-streamed on the website.

ASHU, the company behind every logistic of UENOYES, was run by the couple; Taka Nakanishi, president, and Daisuke Nakanishi, vice-president. They produce a wide array of projects connecting artists from all over the world, placing Japan as the cultural hub of Asia. They can well be FLOATING NOMAD themselves.

When the townscape created by FLOATING NOMAD was disappearing into the twilight, the band FLOATING NOMAD ANONYMOUS started coming out from behind the fountain, wearing the costumes designed by Yoshikazu Yamagata. Beginning of the finale, celebrating this year’s UENOYES.

Some familiar-looking objects could be spotted, such as the saxophone and accordion, but some members played more exotic instruments from places like South Korea, Tibet and Uzbekistan. All of the sounds coming together as harmony is mesmerising; you could hear mysterious tones, but at the same time reminded of music at circus or festival that you heard as a child.

As the twilight darkens, the town made of cardboard boxes was changing its shape into one gigantic ship, while creating a plaza for the live band to play and dance. The music heats up, and the audience clap and shake their bodies. The energy swirls up into the bright moon shining above Ueno Park.