Hiroaki Umeda
Holistic Strata
- ArtistHiroaki Umeda
- PhotographerCourtesy of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]. Photo: Ryuichi Maruo (YCAM)
nouseskou Holistic Strata visualizes the invisible tensions between the body and digital space. The performer’s movement triggers waves of particles, merging human motion and data into a single ecosystem. It reminds me that the boundary between body and environment is never fixed, only breathing.
Holistic Strata
In Umeda’s works, all components on stage - bodies, lights, and sound - are treated as equivalent means of expression, reflecting his post-anthropocentric perspective. In Holistic Strata, these elements are translated into the same information units (pixels), allowing Umeda to explore an “axiom of kinetic movements” that acts as a common denominator of all motion. “The individual stratum decides the holistic strata, and the holistic strata decide the individual stratum: there are two equal determinants in the world.”
Based on this principle, he constructs a holistic living organism in which all movements coalesce into a continuous system, creating a flow of kinetic energy that challenges conventional distinctions between body, light, and sound. Audiences are exposed to sensations that precede the materialization of emotion, experiencing the performance as an integrated, immersive phenomenon.
Stage and Projection
On stage, Umeda appears as a central figure, often in simple black attire, surrounded by dynamic projections, lights, and sound. The opening of Holistic Strata begins with a burst of sound and a flurry of white particles, initiating a 30-minute virtual snowstorm across the stage. His body becomes a shifting canvas as pixels form continuously evolving patterns, extending across the performance space. Movements, projections, and sound interact to create complex rhythms and spatial dynamics, enveloping the audience in a fully realized sensory environment.
A post-performance installation further extends this experience, allowing visitors to step into a light-filled space that mirrors the pixelated landscape of the show, creating a direct encounter with Umeda’s exploration of motion, perception, and digital choreography.
Credit
Commissioned by: YCAM (Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media) Choreography & Dance: Hiroaki Umeda
Image Direction: S20
Image Programming: S20, Satoru Higa, Yoshito Onishi
System Design: Satoru Higa, Yoshito Onishi
Sound Design: Satoshi Hama (YCAM), S20
Lighting Design: Fumie Takahara (YCAM), S20
Costume Design: Ryoko Katayama
Sensing Engineer: Yoshito Onishi, Richi Owaki (YCAM)
Video Engineer: Richi Owaki (YCAM)
Technical Coordination: Takuro Iwata (YCAM)