The Cave of Tongues
Duo Exhibition by Nana Shimomura and Chiku Komiya
Dates: June 15 – July 17
Open: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
By appointment only: Please register via the link below
https://forms.gle/ZoQCNAuR3KDXQLCq9
Curated by Rui Hara
Organized by Kizuato
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A tongue is not only an organ of taste, but also the very vessel for human language.
Rooted respectively in Japanese calligraphy and music, Nana Shimomura and Chiku Komiya have each engaged in the deconstruction and reconstruction of language within their own practices. Their duo exhibition, The Cave of Tongues, embraces the collision of different languages and the instability of the mother tongue within the multilingual environment of New York.
In this exhibition, their new works generate strange and enigmatic forms of “Broken Language,” as if the tongue were dancing, stumbling, and stuttering over itself. From the perspective of the concise, efficient, and “correct” speech demanded in public spaces, such utterances are deemed erroneous—something to be corrected and disciplined.
This exhibition unfolds within a “cave”—a closed, private sanctuary where speech can be born secretly and unceasingly, free from external coercion. Here, the artworks function as organs within the dark, echoing voices and blurring text. Through misrecognition, they propagate linguistic mutations imbued with entirely new meanings.
Operating as both a disruptive virus and a protective vaccine, The Cave of Tongues quietly infects visitors with these mutations, fundamentally unsettling our shared linguistic system.
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In association with
・WAN: Art & Tech Creators Global Network
・Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books
Interview video for my stay in NY, supported by WAN: Art & Tech Creators Global Network.
I'm mentioning my artistic activities, interests, plans in NY, and future visions.
Please check it out!
WAN: Art & Tech Creators Global NetworkでのNY滞在に向けたインタビュー動画がアップロードされました。
私の創作活動や興味、NYでの滞在プラン、将来のビジョンなどを話しています。
ぜひチェックしてみてください！
Support: Project to Support Emerging Media Arts Creators, 2025 @mediaartscreators
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A small presentation event featuring Chiku Komiya’s KOE language songs project and its new development.
Chiku Komiya is a media artist and composer, and a former resident artist at HIAP.
Since his residence at HIAP in 2024, he has been developing songs in a self-constructed language called “KOE,” which is based on phonetic and grammatical similarities between Japanese and Finnish. He has presented installations and performances related to this language in both Finland and Japan.
He is currently developing a tent-shaped device for singing songs in KOE, which modulates the performer’s voice by sensing environmental conditions.
In this event, he will introduce the overview of the project and demonstrate a performance using the new device together with the singer Aino Peltomaa.
After the presentation, participants are welcome to stay for a small informal exchange.
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Chiku Komiya @chikukomiya
Media artist and composer based in Tokyo.
He explores new musical forms by destabilising conventional relationships between voice, language, and musical notation within contemporary media environments, focusing on voice as shaped by multilingual conditions and synthetic technologies.
Working with songs in a self-developed synthetic language, looping relationships between artificial and human voices, and generative forms of notation, he develops works across a wide range of formats, from score-based compositions to media performances and installations.
web: https://chikukomiya.com/
I’ll be participating in the group exhibition “Lingua Franca” at TOKAS Hongo from July 5 to August 10.
During my artist residency at HIAP @hiap_suomenlinna in Finland last year, I created a constructed language combining Finnish and Japanese, called KOE. In this exhibition, I’ll present a new sound installation where you can listen to fictional folk songs sung in that language.
TOKAS Creator-in-Residence 2025 Exhibition “Lingua Franca”
Date: [Part 2] July 5 (Sat) - Aug 10 (Sun), 2025
Time: 11:00-19:00 (Last entry: 18:30)
Closed: Mondays (except Jul 21), Jul 22
Venue: Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo
Artists: [Part 2] AKONITO, AYANO Fumimaro, Christopher Joshua BENTON, CHEN Zhe, KIM Sajik, KOMIYA Chiku, TSUYUKI Haruna
Admission: Free
Organizer: Tokyo Arts and Space (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Details： https://www.tokyoartsandspace.jp/archive/exhibition/2025/20250517-7413.html
Part 2: Artist Talk 2
Date: July 12, 2025 (Sat) 16:00-17:30
Artists: AKONITO, AYANO Fumimaro, KIM Sajik, KOMIYA Chiku
Venue: Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo
Admission: Free
Language: Japanese
Chiku Komiya: Waiting for you to sing / あなたが歌うのを待っている
Date: 14.11-17.11.2024
Open: 14:00-21:00
Venue: Nokiantie 2-4, Helsinki
Supported by Äänen Lumo ry
Solo exhibition of Chiku KOMIYA(composer, media artist) will be held at Äänen Lumo’s new space (Nokiantie 2-4, Helsinki) from 14th to 17th November.
In this exhibition, he focuses on the relationship between language and music in the contemporary media environment using artificial/real voice and generative computational systems.
Recently, he has presented works with both features of performance and installation in his solo exhibitions like ”Let me sing a strange song” in Berlin, ”SEIRÊNES” in Tokyo, and other opportunities, and he has created works interdisciplinary from acoustic music to electronic sound works, media performances, and installations.
Currently, he is a resident artist at HIAP (Helsinki International Artist Programme).
Event in Helsinki, Finland by Chiku Komiya on Thursday, November 14 2024
[Exposition] 15h00-19h00
Masahiro Aogaki
Chiku Komiya
Vidéo du récital télévisuel de Ghérasim Luca « Comment s’en sortir sans sortir »
[Concert] 19h00-20h00
Chiku Komiya : And then, O-ren Knew ‘twas a Song (2024, Création française)
Poésie-performance par Christophe Collin : Héros-limite
Kanae Mizobuchi : L’échelle de Luca (2024, Création mondiale)
Masahiro Aogaki : L’Autre Mister Smith (2024, Création mondiale)
Organized by Masahiro Aogaki, Chiku Komiya, Kanae Mizobuchi, Yukari Yagi
Supported by Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), Nomura Foundation and NPO Con-Tra Culture
Graphisme : Tomoyuki Yanagawa
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Nous nous convulsions / 私たちは痙攣する
-シュルレアリスト ゲラシム・ルカ没後30年-
2024年11月5日（火）
Matreselva (32 Rue du Hameau, 75015 Paris, France)
入場無料・コンサートは予約推奨: [email protected]
出演：青柿将大、小宮知久、溝淵加奈枝、八木友花里、クリストフ・コラン
【展示】15:00-19:00
青柿将大
小宮知久
ゲラシム・ルカ朗読映像« Comment s’en sortir sans sortir »
I will participate in Open Studios on 2nd Nov. at HIAP where I’m staying as an artist-in-residence.
I will showcase the media installation/performance featuring songs in a synthetic language between Finnish and Japanese that I’m currently working on.
Finnish singer Aino Peltomaa and Helsinki-based poet/multimedia artist Daniel Malpikka will participate in my project.
I’m looking forward to presenting my work in my large studio!
In addition, we current HIAP residents will have a collective fundraising table set up in the gallery to raise donations for Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Sumud - The Finnish Palestine Network.
現在アーティストインレジデンスで滞在しているHIAPで11/2に開催されるオープンスタジオに参加します。
現在制作しているフィンランド語と日本語の合成言語による歌に関するメディアインスタレーション/パフォーマンスを発表する予定です！
パフォーマンスをフィンランド人歌手 Aino Peltomaa, 合成言語での詩作をヘルシンキをベースに活動する詩人/マルチメディアアーティスト Daniel Malpikkaに依頼しています。
現在鋭意制作中ですが、自分の広い個人スタジオでインスタレーションやパフォーマンスができることが楽しみです！
さらにHIAPレジデントでギャラリーにてパレスチナのためのファンドレイジング・テーブルを設置する予定です。
An archive video of the performance at monade contemporary (Kyoto) has been published!
My new work, in which artificial voices create their own poems and songs, titled "And then O-ren Knew 'twas a Song," was performed in coordination with Kanae Mizobuchi (soprano).
more details
https://chikukomiya.com/apparition
https://chikukomiya.com/oren28072024
小宮知久「声の亡霊」| Chiku Komiya "Apparition of Voice"2024年3月にドイツ・ベルリンでの個展「Let me sing a strange song / わたしに奇妙な歌を歌わせてく
2024年3月にドイツ・ベルリンでの個展「Let me sing a strange song / わたしに奇妙な歌を歌わせてください」（Retramp Gallery）を終え、8月からはHIAP（TOKASレジデンシー二都市間交流事業プログラム、フィンランド・ヘルシンキ）でのアーティスト・イン・レジデンスを控える作曲家、メディア・アーティストの小宮知久を招いて、作品展示、および新作の上演を行います。
〈関連イベント〉
7月26日（金）19時、投げ銭
Ensemble Interpomtocho
NAM SALON（京都市左京区京都市左京区岡崎天王町54-2 NYビル1F）
プログラム：ジョン・ケージ「4分33秒」やテクスト・スコア作品など
※懇親会あり（お気軽にお越しください）
https://namhall.com/event/report_20240726.html
〈アーティスト〉
小宮知久
1993年生まれ。作曲家。東京藝術大学音楽学部作曲科卒業後、東京藝術大学大学院音楽研究科作曲専攻修了。近年の活動や受賞に、小宮知久個展「Let me sing a strange song / わたしに奇妙な歌を歌わせてください」（2024/ベルリン）、態度と呼応のためのプラクティス｜『エコーの極点』：小宮知久（作曲家）× 木下知威（歴史学者）（2022/東京）、小宮知久個展「SEIRÊNES」（2022/東京）、第24回文化庁メディア芸術祭アート部門新人賞（2021）、Music from Japanにより委嘱されNYにて弦楽四重奏曲の初演（2020/ニューヨーク）、第87回日本音楽コンクール作曲部門（オーケストラ作品）第２位（2018）など。
https://chikukomiya.com
溝淵加奈枝
香川県高松市出身。国立音楽大学音楽学部演奏学科声楽専修を卒業後、フランス・ストラスブール地方音楽院にて国家演奏家資格(DEM)および最上級課程を審査員満場一致のトレ・ビアンを得て修了。その後、ドイツ・シュトゥットガルト音楽・演劇大学修士課程にて現代音楽科声楽専攻を最高成績を得て卒業し、現在はベルリンを拠点に現代音楽と即興をメインに活動している。これまでにソリストおよび Schola Heidelberg、PHØNIX16のメンバーとして メルツムジーク音楽祭、,ドナウエッシンゲン音楽祭、ハイデルベルクの春、サントリーホール・サマーフェスティバルなど各地のフェスティバル・コンサートに招聘されている。またイギリス・ダーラム大学およびDelian Academy for New Music ではゲスト講師としてレクチャーを行った。2023年よりベルリン・Retramp GalleryにてアートフェスティバルfesKaを主催している。NPO法人con-tra culture副理事長および日仏現代音楽協会会員。
http://kanae.uunyan.com/
企画：三杯企画
Chiku Komiya “Apparition of Voice”
After completing his solo exhibition “Let me sing a strange song” (Retramp Gallery) in Berlin, Germany, in March 2024, Composer and media artist Chiku Komiya, who will be an artist-in-residence at HIAP (TOKAS Exchange Residency Program, Helsinki, Finland) starting in August, exhibit his works and perform a new piece at the exhibition at monade contemporary | 単子現代.
Intending to explore new forms of music in the media environment and the physicality in the contemporary age, he has created works interdisciplinary from acoustic music to electronic sound works, media performances, and installations, using a method that dares to make errors in the various norms and forms of music (notation, performance, listening, etc.)In recent years, he has been exploring new music by examining the contemporary media environment and the physical body, and has recently held the solo exhibition “SEIRÊNES”(Kohonya Honkbooks, 2022), in which he exhibited his “VOX-AUTOPOIESIS” series of media performance works as installations, etc). Inspired by the “Seikilos Epitaph” (2BC – 1AD), the world’s oldest surviving complete musical composition, what kind of song will this work produce using modern technology such as artificial voice and voice recognition software?
In this event, he will demonstrate his latest work, “And then, O-ren Knew ‘twas a Song,” a new work that generates a new song through the mutual interference of an artificial voice and a human voice. Kanae Mizobuchi, the performer of the new piece, will also be present during the exhibition and give a talk event after the performance. After the event, the two will also read tarot, a common hobby for both artists.
〈Performance〉
July 27, 2024 (Sat) 15:00 –
ticket price: 2000 yen with 1 drink + change
Reservations required Contact: [email protected]
〈Exhibition〉
July 27, 2024 (Sat) 14:00-19:00
July 28, 2024 (Sun) 14:00-18:00
*28th, 6pm Performance & Talk 27th, 3pm
Chiku Komiya, Kanae Mizobuchi, Listener: F. Atsumi (Director, 単子現代 | monade contemporary)
〈Related Events〉
July 26 (Fri.) 7:00 pm, throw-in
Ensemble Interpomtocho
NAM SALON (NY Bldg. 1F, 54-2 Okazaki Tenno-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto)
Program: John Cage’s “4 minutes 33 seconds” and text score works, etc.
*A reception will be held (please feel free to come)
https://namhall.com/event/report_20240726.html
〈Artists〉
Chiku Komiya
Born in 1993. Composer. Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music, Department of Composition, and completed the Graduate School of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Composition. Recent activities and awards include: Chiku Komiya solo exhibition “Let me sing a strange song” (2024),“The Extreme Points of The Echoes” Chiku Komiya (composer) x Tomotake Kinoshita (historian) (2022), Chiku Komiya’s solo exhibition “SEIRÊNES” (2022), the 24th Japan Media Arts Festival Art Division New Artist Award (2021),the premiere of a string quartet in New York commissioned by Music from Japan (2020), the second prize in the composition category (orchestral works) at the 87th Music Competition of Japan (2018), etc.
https://chikukomiya.com
Kanae Mizobuchi
Born in Kagawa. After her study in Japan she moved to Europe and obtained the diploma at Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Strasbourg with Françoise Kubler, and Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart (MA Neue Musik Gesang) with Prof. Angelika Luz. She has been invited to perform as soloist and member of Schola Heidelberg and PHØNIX16 at various festivals and concerts, including the Märzmusik, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Heidelberger Frühling, and Suntory Hall Summer Festival. Since 2023, she has organized the art festival « fesKa » at the Retramp Gallery in Berlin. Kanae Mizobuchi is currently based in Berlin(Germany) and Ogaki(Japan)
http://kanae.uunyan.com/
【ベルリン個展アーカイブ映像公開 / An archive video of the solo exhibition in Berlin has been published】
2024年3月15〜17日に開催したベルリンでの個展「Let me sing a strange song / わたしに奇妙な歌を歌わせてください」の展覧会アーカイブ映像（YouTube）とを公開しました。
An archive video of my solo exhibition "Let me sing a strange song" in Berlin has been published!
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展覧会アーカイブビデオ（YouTube）
An archive video of the solo exhibition (YouTube)
