The work of Cindy Mochizuki is steeped in ritual and cultural tradition. Whether she is dealing with lighthearted spirits and ghosts or difficult political histories, a certain magic pervades her practice. Mochizuki plays with linear understandings of time and place, reflecting the effects of displacement and fragmentation that define a diasporic condition. Rooted in this specific subject position, she investigates alternative storytelling methods for the transmission of knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of Mochizuki\u2019s projects are site-specific or emerge out of a residency, as with Shako Club<\/em> (2015) or \u201csocial club.\u201d Over the course of several months the artist worked in close collaboration with members of Tonari Gumi, the Japanese Community Volunteers Association of Vancouver to develop recipes for traditional Japanese bento boxes. The group of primarily elderly volunteers created dishes infused with personal stories, as well as influences from their own kitchens. Each bento box was a \u201cculinary sculpture\u201d that included elements of ocean, mountain, and land. The public were invited to trade a gift with an elder to receive a bento box meal. Through these exchanges, Shako Club<\/em> became the site for intergenerational and intercultural learning around food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mochizuki\u2019s most recent project, Cave to Dream<\/em> (2019) encapsulates several of the defining features of her practice. During her time researching in Akita-ken, Japan, Mochizuki discovered the folkloric Namahage demon. This masked figure traditionally visits people in their homes on New Year\u2019s Eve to see how families have behaved. Guided through the installation by the Namahage demons, visitors of Cave to Dream will hear four stories told through separate experimental films. An offering bowl sits in the centre of the room, filled with salt and game pieces that are activated during live performances of the work. This immersive ceremonial space sets the stage for a transference, passing on history and tradition through the artist\u2019s reimagining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mochizuki\u2019s creations shimmer with a mystery and familiarity specific to the kind of narrative that we may have heard or lived before. There in lies their subversive power. Her projects take many shapes to weave together documentary, speculative fictions, or counter narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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