Three years on, Ise City Residency 2019 artists return to Japan
In October 2019, the British Council in collaboration with the Department of Industry and Tourism Ise City invited six UK-based artists to Ise City for an artistic research residency. During the two-week stay, the artists visited Ise Jingu and other areas of Ise to deepen their understanding of history and connect with nature, while also interacting with local artists and residents. These experiences inspired ideas for new works.
In January 2023, jut over three years since their first visit, three of the six artists visited Ise again, this time to create new works. Matthew Rosier, Nicole Vivien Watson, and artist duo Jane and Louise Wilson, intervied local people, filmed at various locations around Ise, and held workshops with the community. Each will be creating a new piece of work that has been deeply inspired by their experiences in Ise and interactions with the community.
A second visit to further explore Ise and its culture
The three artists work across artforms, and each will create work that reflects their interests and backgrounds. Although the artists were visiting Ise at a similar time and were drawn to many of the same sites, what they see and the inspiration they draw from these experiences and interactions are unique.
With a background in architecture, Matthew Rosier creates installations that respond to the nature of each individual “place”. His new work will focus on the Shikinen Sengu ritual of rebuilding and renewal at Ise Jingu. During his return visit, he filmed the landscapes of Ise Jingu and associated shrines, forests around Ise, and spent a lot of time interviewing local people such as the engineers and architects who support Ise's ecosystem. He will be creating an artist film examining the relationship between people and forests in Japan today, through the lens of the ancient rebuilding ritual of the Ise Jingu shrines every 20 years.
Nicole Vivien Watson, director and choreographer of Surface Area Dance Theater, highlights social issues through performance. She is collaborating with sound artist Tom White to produce a short film documenting their visit to Ise and time spent with the Ise Ondo folk dance society and members of Ise’s d/Deaf community. The film offers a glimpse into participants’ experience of feeling, for the first time, ancient sounds captured from live recordings of Ise heritage instruments then translated to vibration – via wearable technology.
Jane and Louise Wilson, who were nominated for The Turner Prize in 1999 for their installation “Gamma”, are identical twin sisters working as an artist duo who create installations using photography and the moving image.Their new work will reflect upon their time based within the protected sites and shrines in the Ise Jingu and filming of the Ise-Ondo folk dance society, and investigate ideas of humanity within the context of the Grand Shrine at a moment of great uncertainty.
Presentation of the artists' new work in the UK
Due in part to the pandemic and international travel restrictions, more than three years stood between the two visits to Japan. The artists will premiere their new works in the UK between February to March 2023 (some works will be presented online), with plans for further presentations on the horizon. Audiences will have an opportunity to see how Ise's unique culture, both tangible and intangible, are expressed through the eyes of the artists.
Watch a video capturing the artists’ experiene on the 2019 residency.
＜Ise City Residency 2022-23＞
Organised and funded by: Ise City
Supported by: British Council
