An ode to a summer festival I've never been to (お盆)

Video installation project and performance exhibited at China Heights Gallery (Sydney) 2024 

An expansion of the Spring Child series

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The artwork reconstructs my grandmother’s archival calligraphy scrolls through performance and origami forms, fusing together my projected ideas of obon (お盆) the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honour the spirits of one’s ancestors. It is an ode to all the things I’ve never been able to do – I’ve never participated in obon, never been to a Japanese summer festival, and never learned Japanese ‘properly,’ before my Obāchan/grandmother passed away.

Below: Performance documentation from group exhibition FIREWORKS at China Heights Gallery (Sydney), curated by Con Gerakaris

Accompanied by jazz guitarist, Yutaro Okuda 

Documentation by Tom Kenttä 

Reina Takeuchi’s work reflects a personal narrative intertwined with cultural memory, drawing from her experiences related to the Japanese summer festival お盆 [Obon]. By transforming discarded calligraphy sheets from her grandmother into handheld fans, she bridges the past and present, exploring themes of connection and absence. Accompanied by a video of her improvisatory movements, Takeuchi’s work becomes a poignant exploration of solace and the ephemera of shared experiences across generations (Gerakaris, 2024).