“Tea Universe” at Swinburne University
This time, it was a project called "Tea Universe" at Swinburne University, which is said to be one of the leading technology universities in Australia, where they serve tea with virtual reality during the day and solo performances at night.
I'm writing this in retrospect because I'm currently in Japan.
I worked with people at the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies (CMT) within the university, which has an impressive name.
For me, it was a series of transformations and changes I've never experienced before.
It was another new learning experience.
Daytime: "Tea Maze" Tea and Virtual Reality Experience
A room on the university campus. An elevator runs alongside, creating a tea space within a somewhat mechanical space, where tea is served.
After offering sweets and tea, the audience put on headsets and watched the virtual reality work "Tea Maze."
A 30-minute surreal world where you can feel the real tea left in your mouth and the tea expanding virtually.
(This work, created in collaboration with the university over four years, was first publicly released this time.)
Night: "Tea Drunkenness" 4-day performance.
The studio, which can "transform" motion capture (a technology that measures the movement of humans or objects with cameras and sensors and converts it into digital data), has been transformed into a theater.
This work is a fusion and transformation of the previous works "Buried Bowl OKUNI" created in 2022, and works from the past. It was presented in Europe the year before last, in the United States last year, and this time it was upgraded with 3D visuals.
I'm sure many aliens came.
Unlike the so-called theater, the spirits of nature were hard to gather, but I felt like I was able to make a new connection with a different world.
I quietly observed the strange world I was developing, without being too rigid or too soft, and quickly digitalized it.
It was cold, but I was very interested.
Some spiritual people asked me, "Why are you performing in such a place?"
I told them, "I was called by the universe," but they actually thought, "I wasn't called, but I was connected."
It was such a cosmic experience.
Thank you.
I still don't understand it well, but it's probably near the future.
It was cold, but warm.
The touch of analog in digital.
With such experiences and feelings, I'm heading to the final training camp of the Shamanism Master Course starting today.
And after that, I'm going to a dance workshop in Fujino, Kanagawa!!
This is a precious opportunity.
Please come visit us〜
(Details are in the comments)
Photo:Vikk Shayen
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TEA UNIVERSE "Tea Universe"
This time, I had the opportunity to create TEA UNIVERSE "Tea Universe" at Swinburne University of Technology, one of Australia's leading technology universities, serving tea in Virtual Reality during the day, and performing my solo work at night.
As I'm already in Japan, I'm writing this as a little reflection.
I worked with the people at the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies (what an amazing name for a place!). For me, it was a continuous experience of 'transformation', fun, and some challenges like nothing I had experienced before.
Another new learning experience.
DAY: "Tea Maze" TEA MAZE :
Tea & Virtual Reality Experience
In a room on the university campus, with an elevator constantly moving up and down beside us, we created a tea space within this somewhat mechanical environment and prepared tea.
After having Japanese sweets and matcha, audience put on a headset and entered the Virtual Reality work 「お茶の迷路」TEA MAZE.
While the taste of tea lingering in their mouth, audience will enter while the virtual world of tea.(30min length!)
This work was created over four years in collaboration with the university, and this was its first public presentation.
NIGHT: 「お茶酔い」TEA TRANCE
Four nights of performance season.
We “transformed” a motion-capture studio into a theatre first time.
The work brings together and re-composes 「埋もれた茶碗 OKUNI」, which I created in 2022, along with my previous tea works. It was presented in Europe the year before last, and in the US last year. This time, I've added another layers by adding new scenes and 3D visuals.
I’m sure lots of aliens came to visit.
Unlike a conventional theatre, it felt like a place where the spirits from nature had a little difficulty gathering. But I felt, somehow, that I had made a new communication with another world.
They quietly observed this strange world that I was presenting and unfolding.
No gooeyness.No stickiness.
Just digital, crisp and clean.
Cold, perhaps, but very curious.
Some person who practice spriltuality asked me,“Why are you performing in a place like this?” (In bit negative tone)but
I almost said,
“Because I can connect to this digital kind of space.”
But actually, what I felt was:
“There was no connection before, but now there is.”
That was my TEA UNIVERSE experience.
BIG THANKS !!
I still don’t quite understand it, but I’m sure it was something for the near future.
Tactile and digital at the same time.
Seems like, no feeling but full of feeling at the same time.
Carrying all these experiences and feelings with me, I’m now heading into the final residential retreat of my Shamanism Master Course in north part of Japan.
After that, I’ll be holding a Butoh residential workshop in Fujino, Kanagawa, before I go back to Australia.
If you’re interested, please come and join me〜
