Japonisme (self care)　　　　　　　　ジャポニスム（セルフ・ケア）

​2023, digital video, stereo, 11:05

Japonisme (self care) documents an improvised performance by Elena in the bath of a Tokyo love hotel, around New Year.

Fruit is a popular formal gift in Japan. It must be shaped, coloured and presented perfectly, and is consequently very expensive.

Fruit-growing is considered an art. Techniques used in cultivation include training, supporting and monitoring the plants; giving each piece of fruit its own sunhat; allowing each vine or branch to support only one fruit; pollinating blossoms with a hand-held brush; and even individual massage. 

As an "alien" resident of Japan, an enthusiast of its traditional bathing practices, and a recipient of both its warm, solicitous care and its famed resistance to integration, Japonisme is the artist's attempt to find an entry point to cultural immersion.

Screenings/Exhibitions
STOPOVER, KOCA, Kamata, Japan 2023

Credits
Music: Lindsay Webb

Links
watch video
see also Chinoiserie (ode to Wuhan)