Shimazaki Kentaro | Shimojo Reisa × SPAC New Work 'Let's Resist the Environment, Resist Death. That's to Resist Life' (SHIZUOKA Seikai Theater Festival 2026③)
Shimojo Reisa's performance at the SHIZUOKA festival explores the 48-year solitary confinement of Bagada Koki through 48 types of physically demanding walking, raising ethical questions about human existence.Summary
Shimojo Reisa's performance at the SHIZUOKA Seikai Theater Festival 2026, titled 'Let's Resist the Environment, Resist Death. That's to Resist Life,' is inspired by the 48-year solitary confinement of Bagada Koki. The work features 48 distinct walking patterns, each with specific physical loads, reenacting Koki's movements to explore themes of resistance, human existence, and ethical dilemmas. The performance, held in the elliptical hall of Shizuoka Performing Arts Park, uses the body as a medium to confront the audience with the realities of confinement and the artist's creative process. Shimojo Reisa, drawing from Koki's writings, emphasizes the physical and psychological toll of prolonged isolation, while the work also draws parallels to butoh's tradition of using the body to express societal and existential struggles.
(Source：artscape)