√K Collection 2025→2026｜Performance Program
During the ongoing exhibition “√K Collection 2025→2026,” we are pleased to present a series of performances by two artists who explore, through the bodily expression, the question of what it means to be human amid the accelerating changes surrounding us today.
All performances are free to attend and require no reservation.
Please visit the gallery at the scheduled times below.
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– Performance #1 Mayo Kobayashi － “Human ( ) Non-human”
Friday, Feb 6, 6:00 PM
Saturday, Feb 7, 4:00 PM
“Human ( ) Non-human”
This performance reexamines human existence and the potential of the body. Focusing on the dynamism embedded in the etymology of “performance” － per (completely) + form (to shape) + ance (the act of doing) － the work dismantles the self and individuality through movements stripped of meaning and narrative.
Artist | Mayo Kobayashi
Mayo Kobayashi developed a unique perspective on the body, drawing from early experiences in ballet and street dance, as well as a background in clinical practice informed by Jungian analytical psychology with a particular focus on recurring dreams and religious emotions.
Her work centers on the encounters that emerge between the body and digital media, while also exploring interests in astronomy, archaeology, and posthumanism. She pays close attention to the ways in which transformations of the world become observable within various spatial and conceptual configurations.
Rather than drawing boundaries between the digital and the analog, she seeks to merge them－working across a diverse range of medium including two-dimensional works, video installations, and physical performance to create interdisciplinary creation.
Instagram | @mayo_kobayashi_
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Performance #2 Mami Shimazaki － “Becoming a Tube” / “Gazing at Billions”
Friday, Feb 13, 6:00 PM － Becoming a Tube
Saturday, Feb 14, 4:00 PM － Gazing at Billions
Saturday, Feb 14, 6:00 PM － Becoming a Tube
“Becoming a Tube”
Earthworms, annelids with cylindrical bodies, possess organs remarkably similar to our own. Emerging approximately 500 million years ago, they are among the primordial creatures that survived multiple ice ages. This work reflects on such ancestral forms of life.
“Gazing at Billions”
The world is the totality of time and space of the entire universe, which has undergone repeated cycles of creation and extinction over 13.8 billion years. Questioning anthropocentrism and fixed notions of species hierarchy, this performance quietly confronts the perspective that “the world began without humans and will end without humans.”
Artist | Mami Shimazaki
Contemporary performance artist.
Born in Tokyo in 1993. Graduated from the Department of Oil Painting, Musashino Art University. Beginning with an interest in painting, she shifted her practice toward performance art. Her work explores worlds before and after humanity through performative actions.
Instagram | @mami.shimazaki