ーPlease introduce yourself.

My name is Namae Myoji. I produce works focused on female bodies, gender identity, and the right to self-determination based on experiences in my life. If I were to select keywords, they would be words like “lookism,” “ageism,” and “sexual intercourse,” and “reproduction,” which are all things that, theoretically, you could say lots of logical things about, but when you actually live, it’s difficult to compromise on. I’m interested in these things, in the ambivalent conflicts that fall between ethics and desire, and that’s the theme of a lot of my works. However, the theme of this particular piece is things in the home, or related to family and travel, so I didn’t make it to be very strongly focused on femininity.

ーWhat would you like viewers to look at in particular?

I think of my works as intermediaries between me and the viewer, like conduits for indirect communication, so I’d like those who are interpreting it to look at it however they’d like, without being told what to look for. Every time I think of an idea for a project, I make it as if I am writing a letter to the viewer, so I’d love it if they could each digest what they feel within themselves, and then share it with me or someone else.

ーPlease tell us how you came to make this piece, and the process behind it.

You know, me and my partner and my older sister live together, and have for about 20 years now. Naturally, I think of the three of us as a family. After moving in together, when I was away for about a week, my sister and my partner got into a huge fight, and my sister messaged me saying she was thinking about moving out, so I realized that while I was away I might not have a home to go back to. I suddenly felt hopeless, like I didn’t know where I was exactly, like I’d become lost, and that made me realize anew how hard it is to live together with other people and try to share the same ideologies. So I put everything I felt exactly as I felt it into this piece.

ーIs there something you want to convey with this piece?

There are infinite ways to think about family or interpret the concept of family, so I guess saying that what you feel when seeing the piece is everything is a bit arrogant.

ーPlease tell us anything special or novel about how you make art.

Anything special or novel…I do a lot of pieces that reflect my personal experiences, but there’s a phrase in second-wave feminism that I think is really excellent: “The personal is political.” So I try really hard to put my heart into making pieces that search for connections between my personal experiences and the shared problems of the world.

ーCould you tell us a little bit more about how the possibility of losing your home led you to the creation of this piece?

Last year, my partner and I did an exhibition together, and actually that one also took “family” as the theme. As part of that exhibition, there was a video of my sister, my partner and I playing a game like capture the flag, and that served as the base for this installation. In the video, conflicts and resolutions of relationships that happen while building a home are represented by the act of playing with wooden building blocks.

Namae Myoji+Wataru Hayashi
Family Game
styrofoam, resin, paint, single Channel Video 3'55", plastic chain, wood, suitcase, souvenir, book, hair dryer, clothing, hotel cleaning door signs
2023