Just Keep Going - Polyphony Gentle Activism for Collective Survival

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Cover image: Just Keep Going_Sanctuary, Ryoko Kose (2018)
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Published: Dec 21, 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32891/jps.v5i4.1422
Keywords:
transnational voluntary evacuation socially engaged art ikebana trauma survival

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Ryoko Kose
RMIT University

Abstract

This portfolio examines the possibility of my project ‘Just Keep Going’ series to nurture resilience for those experiencing uncanniness during periods of change and re-organization in the aftermath of extreme experiences. Experiences in an action-oriented non-verbal polyphony environment that prioritizes the uniqueness of a holistic self while accepting the existence of diverse individuals who are participating in collective survival could foster that resilience. My practice-led research aims to explore an expanded application of my Ikebana practice to my public Spatial Neural-Architectures while exploring a new way of understanding security, survival, and wellbeing. My research informs my art practice that includes the practices arising out of my life experience as a transnational voluntary evacuee to Australia from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.  
My portfolio shows the transformation of my artwork and my everyday life. I investigate how my art practice could offer a therapeutic experience as well as a new cultural framework by examining the methods of Open Dialogue, the Biophilia Hypothesis, Ikebana Philosophy, and Sand-play Therapy. These methods open up new possibilities for a socially engaged practice that addresses collective traumas in the midst/aftermath of global crisis and the social changes necessary for collective survival. 

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How to Cite
Kose, R. (2020) “Just Keep Going - Polyphony: Gentle Activism for Collective Survival”, The Journal of Public Space, 5(4), pp. 323–338. doi: 10.32891/jps.v5i4.1422.
Issue
Vol. 5 No. 4 (2020): Art and Activism in Public Space
Section
RMIT University: Master of Arts (Art in Public Space)

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Author Biography

Ryoko Kose, RMIT University

Ryoko Kose is an artist who arrived in Melbourne, Australia in 2014 as a voluntary evacuee from the Fukushima nuclear disaster with her two young children and before her third delivery in 2015. Her artwork, designed to protect her family and herself, turned to be a gentle activism for collective survival. Following on from her Master of Arts (Art in Public Space) at RMIT University, she is now undertaking a PhD. As a PhD candidate at RMIT University, she has exhibited her sculpture with performance for ‘Bruised: Art Action and Ecology in Asia’, a part of ‘ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2019’ at RMIT Gallery. Her participatory collaboration was exhibited for Swell Sculpture Festival, Gold Coast, in 2019. Her sculpture was exhibited for the public event Gender, Peace and Security on the theme of ‘displacement’ in Monash Law Chambers, for the International Women’s Day event in the Artists guild in The District Docklands and a public art work for Metro Tunnel Project in Melbourne CBD 2018. She has exhibited in solo and group shows in Japan, France and Australia

References

Colebrook, C. (2003), Understanding Deleuze, Taylor & Francis Group, 2003. P29-30

Enns, C & Kasai, M. (2003) ‘Hakoniwa: Japanese Sandplay Therapy’, The Counseling Psychologist, Vol.31, January 2003, P.109

Folke, C., Carpenter, S., Elmqvist, T., Gunderson, L., Holling, C. S., & Walker, B., (2002) ‘Resilience and sustainable development: Building adaptive capacity in a world of transformation’, P. 34, The Environmental Advisory Council to the Swedish Government. Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kawai, H. (1996) Buddism and the art of psychotherapy, College Station: Texas A&M University Press, U.S.,

Seikkula, J., Alkare, B., & Aaltonrn, J. (2001) ‘Open dialogue in psychosis I: An introduction and case illustration’, Journal of Constructivist Psychology, vol.14, 247-266.

Seikkula, J. & Olson, M.E. (2003) "The Open Dialogue approach to acute psychosis: Its poetics and micropolitics", Family process, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 403-18.