SMouTh’s experience in Tokyo -“abROAD to Japan” project

The priceless opportunity to travel to Tokyo city and the countryside had  SMouTh’s artists/researchers (Costas Lamproulis, artist director and video maker, Thanos Kyratzis, text writer, and Dimitra Zacharouli, dancer and researcher) and the illustrator Stelios Pliatsikas during July in the framework of “abROAD to Japan” project.

The main purpose of this 10-days rich and first-hand experience was to imprint and bring back to Greece their first artistic impressions of Japanese culture, through photos, videos, texts and more material. The team accompanied by a wider team of SMouTh’s members and associates, had the chance to wander through diverse neighborhoods, observe cultural aspects and everyday life, ride trains and bikes in the countryside, visit cutting-edge digital art museums, even attend a Kabuki performance!

The originally created material that they brought back will be studied complementarily and in comparison to past literature written by Western authors who visited Japan in previous centuries and decades, such as Lafcadio Hearn and Pico Iyer, it will be combined to form the basis of a multimedia exhibition in Larissa and the edition of an original manga.

The abroad to Japan manga and exhibition are aspired to capture and highlight the impact of travelers’ first impressions as a powerful means of interculture dialogue and understanding, in line with Japan Expo’s principles and aims.

We are looking forward to seeing and sharing the final artistic outcomes of this unique trip!

The “abROAD to Japan” project is funded by the Japan Expo ’70 Commemorative fund (2024).