Curated and presented by FADO Performance Art Centre at the 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art.

Sakiko Yamaoka is a Japanese performance artist, and since 1990 her work has been presented and exhibited in Asia, Europe, and North America. Her work is elegant and often darkly humorous. About her work, Yamaoka says, “I define my artworks as sculptures depicting action and time and relationship between artist and audience, artist and materials, in which I attempt to create an example of the human condition.”

Delusion is the central idea of my life. Sometimes delusion gives me the hope to continue, and sometimes it attacks me and tempts me to commit suicide. I saw a very attractive logical misunderstanding from a book about schizophrenia: “Human beings are alive. Plants are alive. Therefore human beings are plants.” I felt this to be true. I love such dramatics. I define my art-works as sculptures depicting action, time and the relationship between artist and audience, artist and materials. In my work, I attempt to create an example of the “human condition.” For the last several years, I have been working within the framework of the geographical, political, historical and social contradictions of Japanese consciousness.

—Sakiko Yamaoka

SCHEDULE

Best Place to Sleep (“Come with me” version)
October 27 @ 12:00pm–5:00pm | Various locations

Wind from Sky (Human Beings Are Plants)
October 29, 2023 @ 12:00pm | Poppies Flower Shop
October 30, 2023 @ 12:00pm | Queen Street West & Bellwoods Ave.
October 31, 2023 @ 12:00pm | Queen Street West & Crawford St.
November 1, 2023 @ 8:00pm | XPACE Cultural Centre, 58 Ossington Avenue

PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTIONS

Best Place to Sleep (“Come with me” version)
Between 2007 and 2012, Best Place to Sleep has been performed in various cities including Tokyo, Warsaw, Boston, Zagreb and Toronto. In this intervention into public space, the artist (sometimes alone and sometimes with a group of willing participants) occupies space in banks and bank machine kiosks by lying down on the ground and attempting to take a short nap. The performance is immediate and often short, ending when the artist is asked to leave the premises.

Wind from Sky (Human Beings Are Plants)
Yamaoka rounds out her time in Toronto by performing another public intervention, Wind from Sky (Human Beings are Plants), at various local flower shops and variety store locations where flowers and plants are sold. In this intervention the artist occupies space, close to and around flowers and plants, sitting alone and silently, attempting to become a plant herself.

Elaine Wong’s eyewitness account of Best Place to Sleep (“Come with me” version)
Elaine Wong’s eyewitness account of Wind from Sky (Human Beings Are Plants) (October 29)
Andrew James Paterson’s eyewitness account of Wind from Sky (vol. 2)

© Sakiko Yamaoka, Wind From Sky, 2008. Photo Henry Chan.