concrete

Current
The Voice of Inconstant Savage
[Commissioned Work] This multifaceted, polyphonic and immersive sound installation by Yasuhiro Morinaga establishes a historical encounter between Portuguese culture and Japan, memories and myths that remain and coexist with other cultures of the Amazon. Commissioned for the Engawa – Japanese Contemporary Art Season programme , The Voice of Inconstant (2023) is an immersive installation that superimposes a prayer inspired by the story of a 16th-century Portuguese missionary, a chant from a Kakure-Kirishitan (hidden Christians) prayer – a religion rooted in Nagasaki Prefecture –, a chant from the Karawara spirits of the Awá indigenous people – who live in the Amazon rainforest – and a chorus of Western Gregorian chant. Morinaga questions the position of the aesthetics of inconstancy in relation to the discourse of the “savage” that modern society confronts.

Field recordings
Sombat Simla: Master Of Bamboo Mouth Organ
Simla is known in Thailand as one of the greatest living players of the khene, the ancient bamboo mouth organ particularly associated with Laos but found throughout East and Southeast Asia. His virtuosic and endlessly inventive renditions of traditional and popular songs have earned him the title ‘the god of khene’, and he is known for his innovative techniques and ability to mimic other instruments and non-musical sound, including, as a writer for the Bangkok Post describes, ‘the sound of a train journey, complete with traffic crossings and the call of barbecue chicken vendors’.

Installation
The Voice of Inconstant Savage
Commissioned for the Engawa – Japanese Contemporary Art Season programme organized by Calouste Gulbenkian Museum's Modern Art Center, The Voice of Inconstant Savage is an immersive installation that superimposes a prayer inspired by the story of a 16th-century Portuguese missionary, a chant from a Kakure-Kirishitan (hidden Christians) prayer – a religion rooted in Nagasaki Prefecture –, a chant from the Karawara spirits of the Awá indigenous people – who live in the Amazon rainforest – and a chorus of Western Gregorian chant. Morinaga questions the position of the aesthetics of inconstancy in relation to the discourse of the “savage” that modern society confronts.

Performing arts
MARGINAL GONGS
東南アジアの島々全域で長きにわたり、最も重要な楽器とされてきた青銅器ゴング。人々の間で語り継がれてきたゴングにまつわる説話をモチーフに「過去と現在」「民族と国籍」「聖と俗」「肉体と魂」「時間と空間」様々な価値観を最新のメディアテクノロジーとサウンドデザインで越境する新たな物語。パフォーマー・映像・照明・立体音響、現代アジア最高のスタッフを結集し作り上げる舞台作品『MARGINALGONGS』。

Performing arts
Kenta Kojiri + Yasuhiro Morinaga : COROLI
A performative installation that evokes memory Based on the theme of "recording" the "memory" that has been the basis of previous creations, this is an attempt to approach the sense of "flavor" that appears when you visit a certain place. Using the "places" observed and collected by each artist in the theatre, we will try to reconstruct the places that did not coexist, using the sensations and imaginations brought from the space as clues. By inviting the audience to the place of creation, we will guide the existence of a "performative installation" where humans and the environment come and go while further integrating and dismantling.