As the year of 2016 closes, Asakusa reflects on a time dominated by a series of disturbing political events: Syria and the refugee crisis, Brexit, a re-emergence of nationalism in Japan and throughout Europe, and most recently Trump’s victory in the United States. The event responds to these occurrences, willing take part in discussions accompanying them, while at the same time embracing the legacy of Fluxus, whose instruction-based practice deployed grassroots actions to fight against all borders.
The event included a set actions inspired by the oeuvre of Yoko Ono and Rirkrit Tiravanija: re-enactments of Tiravanija’s culinary performance following his recipe from the artists’ compilation book, Do It: The Compendium (2013), Ono’s Light House (1967), as well as tribute-performances by emerging Japanese artists Akiyoshi Nita and Yuki Kobayashi. In result, the spectacular and sublime act of igniting the light was accompanied by a communitarian undertaking of cooking, aiming for a grassroots effort. The night emphasised the projection of the exhibition, “Acting Together”, which seeks to activate the proposals of Ono and Tiravanija towards unrestricted universality and reconnecting people to the everyday foundation of their social realities.