(more than)^2 human
This was the Environmental Art course of the Department of Intermedia Studies programme at Waseda Univeristy, Tokyo.
Creating art requires time, perseverance, and dedication. It involves constant experimentation and many moments of failure. If there is one thing this seminar taught me, it is that you simply need to keep trying until something eventually clicks. Sometimes it isn't obvious, and sometimes you won't fully grasp it, but as long as you keep working toward it and find fulfilment in the process, it becomes all the more worth it.
Speaking with guest artists from around the world and with fellow students was deeply insightful. It was interesting to see how others perceive art, how they arrive at their ideas, and how they create works rooted in both their personal experiences and themselves.
The seminar's theme was “More Than Human,” encouraging us to create art that steps outside the human domain. This could be explored psychologically or physically, such as through plants and fungi, questioning how they can be perceived as extensions of us or as something entirely separate.
For me, my “more than human” experience was my entire exchange period in Japan. It was “more than human” because it felt bigger than myself. Moving to an entirely new place with different traditions, customs, food, buildings, even a different kind of air and water. I documented these experiences by collecting scraps and fragments I found during my stay, turning them into a collage. To me, this collage is “more than human” because it captures my raw, personal experience on these pages. It shows moments that may seem normal to others, yet to me were completely new, and even the things that eventually became normal became part of the experience themselves.
Fellow classmates participated in the exhibition and showcased their installations as well.
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