Sarah WESTPHAL

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Sarah WESTPHAL

Participating Project	Exchange Residency Program (Creators from abroad)
Activity Based	Brussel
City	Tokyo
Period	2022.9 - 2022.11

Purpose of the residency

I am interested in Tokyo as a unique metropolis where natural forces create an omnipresent expectation of disasters and in Japan as a collection of islands surrounded by the ocean. During my stay I want to explore how natural forces (e.g. water, wind, earthquakes) can be non-human agents for producing images. Unlike previous work in which I used footage filmed from a boat, I now want to explore the underwater world of Japan by jumping into the water with my camera.This experiences I will use for building immersive installations.

Plan during the residency

• prospecting dive sites, establish collaborations; interviewing islanders about their relationship with the ocean 
• physical training; preparations for technical equipment 
• test set-ups filming underwater, recordings (Tokyo area, Izu Island and Bōsō Peninsula); experiment how to integrate these experiences into immersive installations
  
•  experiments for enlargements/microscopy of the recordings that I will make in collaboration with departement Marine Biology UGent (BE) for installations 　
  
•  establishing new contacts in fields of dance and opera; visiting the Life Safety Learning Center for Earthquakes in Tokyo 
  

Activities during the residency

During my residency, I researched how natural forces like water can be agents to produce art and new ways of being in the world. Through diving I recorded sea creatures endangered by human behavior in image and sound. To memorize my bodily experiences, I grew crystals from the different water bodies in which I dived. I did interviews on how people relate to the ocean, about the role of ocean in Japanese culture and geology and the interconnectivity of human and no-human life forms amongst others with researchers from the University of Tokyo and the National Institute for Environmental Studies.

Outcome of the residency

First recordings and edit of film and sound material and interviews with scientist that will be part of an immersive installation in the future. Based on this material, I will plan further research in Japan.

Creator Information