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Relay Column: Molding the Sway of the Body (Koki Yasunaga)
PROFILE
Koki Yasunaga
Born in 1996. Currently studying the history of philosophy, particularly pragmatism, in the master's program at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology. Also involved in the publication of the criticism magazine "近代体操."
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I have bad posture, so I often visit a chiropractor. About three years ago, I underwent a mysterious treatment that combined techniques like martial arts, Butoh dance, and Vipassana meditation. It was entirely different from the usual chiropractic treatment that involves relaxing muscles with manual techniques. Guided by the chiropractor, my legs and arms slowly floated in the air. I didn't quite understand what was happening. During the treatment, I didn't feel any change, but once it was over, I felt my body's axis firmly rooted to the ground, and my awareness seemed to extend to the corners of my vision. It was a surreal feeling, as if I had been bewitched by a fox.
Before and after the treatment, several activities are conducted to compare the state of the body. One such activity involves choosing a card with a favorite design. Illustrated cards from a certain board game ("DiXit") were spread out on the floor, and I intuitively selected from the illustrations that I found appealing. The original board game is about finding words that match abstract designs, and each card offers a unique and fantastical world. Bent over, I let my eyes skim over the vibrantly colored cards and gathered them in my hand.
The image above is a record of the cards I chose during my second treatment. The six on the left are from before the treatment, and the three on the right are from after. The six cards before the treatment consist of deep reds and blues, carrying a heavy ambiance. Meanwhile, the three cards after the treatment have a light and free atmosphere. The stark contrast wasn't something I aimed to create intentionally, but when I looked at the cards after the treatment, after an hour away from them, the way I saw the illustrations changed dramatically.
What surprised me more than how drastically my choice of cards changed was the feeling that my body had been "preserved" in the six cards I had picked an hour earlier. My body had undergone a definitive transformation through the treatment. However, that doesn't mean the pre-treatment version of myself felt distant. By looking at the six cards, I can clearly remember the mood of the moment I picked them, recalling the sensations from before the treatment. The present "me," who chose three cards of light blue and orange, can evoke the body of the past "me," who selected the six cards.
Media preserve the body. When I travel, I frequently take photos with my smartphone, and the role of photos as a medium is likely the preservation of the body. If all I wanted were photos of sights, I could just search the Internet. Instead, I want to record the encounters with unknown things, the transformation of my body through these meetings. The body will surely transform quickly, and I want to tether this current state. Driven by such a desire, I snap photos on my smartphone.
I have always carried the image that the body is fluid and its boundaries are blurry. Technology intricately shapes the contours of this blurred body. If I master the use of a DSLR instead of a smartphone, I could record the interaction between the environment and myself in a more delicate manner. The camera parameters synchronize with the body's fluctuation. Or how about creating a drawing before and after getting a chiropractic treatment? A sketchbook would likely serve as a testament to the body's changes. With the techniques of photography and drawing, the vocabulary available for the body expands.
For me, buying clothes is also an act of preserving the body. I pick up clothes, speak to the staff, and go to the fitting room. The process leading to the decision to buy is heavily influenced by the body's condition at that time. Clothes purchased before and after a chiropractic session differ. Unless I have a 100 percent clear image of the clothes I want to buy, I have to rely on the physical act of how I conduct myself in the store to make a choice. This includes many accidental elements, such as the display method and communication with the store staff. Thus, the chosen clothes preserve the subtle appearance of the body.
Shaping a fluctuating body is tantamount to establishing the body's "self-awareness." Incidentally, today's era easily leads us to become "overly self-conscious" about our bodies. Resist the normalized body or social norms and discover the "individuality" of your own body. Art plays the role of exploring the body's singularity. It's almost as if there's a credo that "everyone should have the artist's perspective." Social media entices and questions your body: What kind of content will your body create?
There is a need for ways to guard the body against the excessive self-awareness developed by the internet. The recent spread of MBTI or body type analysis can be seen as a kind of defense mechanism against endless self-awareness. The ready-made "types" they offer become a safe haven for us. A desire to tame the fluid body and systematically manage it. However, on the other hand, there are fine body fluctuations that such rough standards might miss. Slowing down the pace of self-awareness dictated by the internet and listening to the body's voice. For that purpose, an appropriate "object" is needed that aligns with the body's "slowness." For example, illustration cards or sketchbooks. We possess the power to transform the meaning of objects along with our fluctuating bodies.
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