Mono no aware 物の哀れ

Performance & Installation, 2023

“We are moving from inflection to inclusion in a subject, as if from virtual to the real,
inflection defining the fold, but inclusion defining the soul or the subject, that is, what
envelops the fold, its final cause and its complete act” (The Fold, 23)

The origami performance Mono no aware 物の哀れ (Engl.: the pathos of things; transience) breaks down the traditional conformities attached to the kimono, reforming them into a foldable and interchangeable state that facilitates the creation of a new piece -housing a remembrance and the transience of the old shape through the creases of the fold.
The project delves into how the fold merges two existing objects, unfolds and refolds their state into one. Energy is the critical component of the project. It facilitates the shape-shifting from one matter to another - from the life-sized wearable kimono to a mushroom - and sets the fold in motion. The act of the fold, origami, facilitates transculturality, creating a new communal sphere in which kinship and diversity can flourish, and transcends borders of traditional cultures.

“Bodily folding, which includes enfolding and unfolding as points of entrance and departure or pathways that change spatial navigation through and with a particular material, matter or substance, could be seen as the baseline state of being within the continuum of action. Biologically, enfolding nurtures the self. It is a form of nest building, a fractal development of an internal structure, and a deepening of the self.
Unfolding, on the other hand, opens to the world. Unfolding is readiness, structural stability and creative mobility. It is a movement beyond the self.” (Sentler 2019)

The outcome of Mono No Aware was an origami performance that showcased the transformation of a kimono into a mushroom while using the same paper with a delicate, intricate pattern.
The kimono, created in a life-sized shape, was worn at the beginning of the performance, closely relating to and simultaneously deconstructing the traditional Nichibu performance from historical Japan. While “oddly” wearing and presenting the life-sized kimono, I walked towards the centre of the room in which I had built a miniature stage. The stage represented a concert stage with a live audience that served as a community to build the mushroom . The stage consisted of two origami-folded items, the cello and a pianino. After taking off the kimono, the refolding process started and the kimono transformed into a mushroom, my companion species on stage. While I performed the piano, the mushroom played the cello - this referred to the music that played in the background, the Rachmaninoff cello sonata in G-minor. The stage and classical music elements were chosen as a source of comfort.After the music ended, the sound of the creases and the folding process became the focal point. The performance brings together elements of the temporality, the aspect of time and patience, and the transience in the creases.