Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's A Picture Book without Pictures, this research explores the potential violence that occurs when anthropomorphizing nonhuman organisms and material matters. The project, titled “Tying and Untying Sand Strings,” interrogates the epistemological relationship between humans, sand, and other accompanying nonhuman organisms and matters from children’s perspectives. This endeavor aims to develop a theory of multispecies epistemology that moves beyond anthropomorphism.
The foundation of this research involves observing a child engaging with sand, feeling, playing, and thinking in its presence. Sand, as a nonhuman matter, slips through the mesh of anthropomorphism, facilitating an exploration of the potential violence of anthropomorphism and ways to transcend it in epistemology. This characteristic of sand furthermore oscilates with simultaneously ocurring epistemological relationship of human to other nonhuman organisms and matters that it hosts. The research highlights the "discrepancy in perspectives" similar to the narrative structure in Andersen's book, where characters' viewpoints intersect yet remain distinct.
Children, as adept participants in the worlds of nonhuman organisms and matters through play, exemplify the emergent stage of culture, as argued by historian Johan Huizinga. This research delves into the phenomenon where the nonhuman organisms and matters and people intertwine while remaining distinct, uncovering the reversible process of anthropomorphization—tying and untying strings.
During the residency, the project will develop pretend play using sand as a material, documenting the process, and compiling it into "A Picture Book without Pictures (tentative)." The assemblages of sand and various other materials and organisms will reflect the multifaceted nature of the world, akin to how a rainbow's appearance changes with one's viewpoint. This exploration addresses the inherent paradox of creating strings out of sand, probing the nature of understanding and interaction between humans and nonhuman entities.
Workshop
The artist will be running a children-led workshop Shake hands with sandy hands at the Kunsthal Aarhus on 10 September, 2024.
For registration and details, visit the Kunsthal Aarhus website: EN / DK
The Artist’s Bio
Toshiaki Hicosaka is Head of Department at the Department of Art and Child Studies, Kyoto University of the Arts.
He is organizer of the artist collective Kisoji with MAETANI, Kai and TATEGAMI, Kotaro. Father of two. With an interest in phenomena where objects and humans intertwine. He engages in the practice of participating in objects with others through various approaches such as drawing, picking up, and walking.
He was a researcher for the Rohm Theatre Kyoto Research Program in 2022 and recipient of the Pola Foundation overseas research fellowship (England and Iceland, 2015). Received the Pollock-Krasner Foundation production grant (New York, 2009). Solo exhibitions include those at The Triangle, Kyoto Kyocera Museum of Art (2022), Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation (London, 2017), AISHONANZUKA (Hong Kong 2016), Ohara Museum of Art (Okayama, 2009), Shiseido Gallery (Tokyo, 2008), ARCO Solo Project (Madrid, 2008).
Has participated in group exhibitions in the UK, France, Lithuania, Malaysia, and in Japan at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kyoto Art Center, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and others.
The artist’s website: hicosaka.com
