There Is Another Capital beneath the Waves
In collaboration with YCAM
Chia-Wei Hsu + Ting-Tong Chang + Hsien-Yu Cheng
Memories of modernization and war, of Taiwan and Japan, seen through sugar and Japanese traditional puppetry.
Chia-Wei Hsu, Ting-Tong Chang, and Hsien-Yu Cheng are internationally active artists based in Taiwan. Although each usually works independently, they came together to create the two-part project tracing the memories of modernization and the relationship between Taiwan and Japan, beginning with the sugar industry in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period: Crystal Seeding (2021) and There Is Another Capital beneath the Waves (2023).
Titled after The Tale of the Heike and set in a sugar factory built in Moji, Fukuoka in Japan during the Meiji period, this video installation / performance in collaboration with Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] revisits the modern histories of Taiwan/Japan, associating “manipulation” in puppetry and VR with the driving force of history. To be seen alongside Crystal Seeding at the Motomachi-Chinatown Campus of Tokyo University of the Arts.
Venue
- KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre Large Studio
- 281 Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama 231-0023
Date and Time
12.12 Fri 19:30 – With a post-performance talk
12.13 Sat 12:30
12.13 Sat 17:00
Running Time
36min
Language
Japanese
Translation/Subtitles
Japanese and English subtitles
Accessibility
*Please inquire YPAM Secretariat for tickets for wheelchair seats. (TEL +81 45-264-6514 Email ticket@ypam.jp)
*12.13 Sat 12:30 On-site childcare available during the performance (¥2,000). Please contact the YPAM Secretariat one week before the show. (TEL +81 45-264-6514 Email ticket@ypam.jp)
Tickets
General ¥3,500
YPAM Registrant ¥2,000
Available at the YPAM Ticketing site and Ticket Kanagawa (general only)
*No preschool children allowed.
Artist Information
- Chia-Wei Hsu
Born 1983 in Taichung. In his video works, he reconstructs the relationships between people, things and places that have been omitted in conventional historical accounts, to highlight the geographical, historical and cultural connections between Taiwan and other places in Asia, and the personal histories of human individuals tossed about by the tides of the times. He represented the Taiwanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2013, and was a finalist at the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award in the same year. He won the Annual Grand Prize at the 15th Taishin Arts Award in 2017. In 2024, he won the 10th Eye Art & Film Prize. His works also presented in group shows such as Thailand Biennale Chiangrai (2023), Asia Pacific Triennale (2021, Australia), Singapore Biennale (2019), the Biennials of Shanghai, Gwangju, Busan and Sydney (2018). In Japan, his works have been exhibited at “Travelers: Stepping into the Unknown” (2018), The National Museum of Arts, Osaka, “Theater Commons '18” (2018), “MAM Screen” (2018) and “Machine Love” (2025) at Mori Art Museum and Aichi Triennale 2022.
- Ting-Tong Chang
Born 1982 in Taipei. Chang focuses on the critical aspects of gaming and art. His projects create immersive gaming experiences that attract both players and art audiences through interactive interfaces designed to engage multiple senses, allowing them to enter poetic narrative environments with simple controls. He has held solo shows at Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art (USA) and Taipei Fine Arts Museum (Taiwan), and participated in group exhibitions and commissions at Teater Ibsen(Norway), Taipei Biennial (Taiwan), Compton Verney Art Gallery (UK), and the Wellcome Trust (UK). His work has been recognized with awards including the SXSW Immersive Jury's Special Prize (USA), Taishin Arts Award (Taiwan), Taipei Art Award (Taiwan), Hertzog Da Silva Award(Spain), VIA Arts Prize (UK), and the Gilbert Bayes Award (UK).
- Hsien-Yu Cheng
Born 1984 in Kaohsiung. Artist and software developer who creates artworks, software, and experimental bio-electronic devices incorporating electronic equipment. Through his works with a focus on human behavior, emotions, software, and relationships between machines, he communicates his unique view of society and environment in humorous ways. He won the Taipei Digital Art Award First Prize in 2014, Kaohsiung Art Award New Media Art First Prize in 2017, Tung Chung Art Award in 2019, the 19th Taishin Arts Award Visual Art Award in 2021, and received S+T+ARTS Nomination/Honorary Mentions at ARS Electronica in 2023. His solo and group exhibitions are mostly exhibited in Taiwan, Asia and Europe. Recently, he has participated in ARS Electronica 2023, Sónar 2025 in Barcelona, and other exhibitions in the Netherlands, Slovenia, Norway, Italy, Germany, France, Austria, and Korea.
Staff, Cast and Credits
Chai-Wei Hsu + Ting-Tong Chang + Hsien-Yu Cheng
There Is Another Capital Beneath the Waves
In collaboration with YCAM
2023
6-channel video, VR performance
Approx. 36 min.
Artistic Direction: Chia-Wei Hsu, Ting-Tong Chang, Hsien-Yu Cheng
Script: Kai-Ting Yang, Ting-Tong Chang
Video Appearance
Bunraku Puppeteer: Tamasuke Yoshida, Monyoshi Kiritake, Tamamichi Yoshida (Bunraku-Kyokai)
Tayu: Tomowaka Takemoto
Shamisen & Taisho-koto Player: Yumiko Tanaka
Percussionist: Taikimen (Taiki Yamazaki)
Lab Researcher: Takayuki Ito
VR Performer: Haruka Sakai
Technical Direction: Mitsuru Tokisato*, Richi Owaki, Takayuki Ito
Project Management: I-Tian Chao
Research & Shooting Coordination: Mojiko Art Platform (Takahiro Ikegami, Fumiwo Iwamoto), I-Tian Chao
Curation: Kazuhiko Yoshizaki
Sound Direction: Tak-Cheung Hui
Composition of Joruri and Taisho-koto: Yumiko Tanaka
Composition of Shamisen: Yumiko Tanaka, Tak-Cheung Hui
Sound Design: Tak-Cheung Hui
Sound Mix: Tak-Cheung Hui
Sound Support: Yumiko Tanaka
Video Direction: Chia-Wei Hsu
Shooting Direction: Yasuhiro Moriuchi
Shooting Crew: Yasuhiro Moriuchi, Yu-Chen Cheng, Mitsuru Tokisato*, Daichi Yamaoka*, Richi Owaki
Drone Shooting: Tetsuhiro Shirasawa
Motion Capture: Richi Owaki, Mitsuru Tokisato*
3D Scan: Fumie Takahara*, Mitsuru Tokisato*
Sound Recording: Toshihiko Kasai, Takuma Kase, Junji Nakaue*, Takayuki Ito
Lighting: Fumie Takahara*
Costume Design: Hikky Chen
Make-up: Hsien-Yu Cheng, Hikky Chen
Production Management: Clarence Ng
Instrument Design: Ting-Tong Chang
Instrument Production: Kuo-Wei Lin, Richi Owaki, Mitsuru Tokisato*
Alcohol Production: Takayuki Ito, Fumie Takahara*, Hazuki Ohta*
Set Design: Ting-Tong Chang
Set Production: SUPER FACTORY, Richi Owaki, Tomoko Ishizaki*, Ayumi Shobun*, Mitsuru Tokisato*
Video Editing: Chia-Wei Hsu
Video Coloring: Tzu-Yi Yang
VFX: TSAI Quint, Tzu-Yi Yang
CG Production: Tomoro Hanzawa
CG Animation: Mitsuru Tokisato*
CG Animation Assistance: Hayato Itakura*
Script Translation & Co-editing: Lily Chenran Ikeda, Hiroki Yamamoto + h (Inu no senaka-za), Yumiko Tanaka, Kazuhiko Yoshizaki*
Joruri Hyper Translation: Yumiko Tanaka
English Translation: Fumiwo Iwamoto
Subtitles: Yu-Chen Cheng, Hayato Itakura*
Production Coordination: Kartika Menon*, Hikari Fukuchi, Chisako Nakajima
Performance Direction: Ting-Tong Chang
Stage Management: Clarence Ng
Stage Design: Ting-Tong Chang, Hsien-Yu Cheng
Stage Production: Richi Owaki
Lighting Design: Hsien-Yu Cheng
Video Engineering: Richi Owaki
Shadow Puppetry Device: Mitsuhito Ando*
System Development: Junji Nakaue*, Mitsuru Tokisato*, Yohei Miura
System Operation: Yohei Miura
Management: Chisako Nakajima
Filiming Cooperation: Kanmon Seito Co. Ltd., Shin-Moji Saiseki Co. Ltd., Sankiro, Kitakyushu Film Commission
Special Thanks: Mojiko Art Platform, Taiwan Sugar Coporation Huwei Sugar Factory
This work was produced with the support of the National Culture and Arts Foundation (NCAF), Taiwan.
*Staff of the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]
Lighting: Eiji Yamamori, Maki Ueyama | Sound: Takeshi Inarimori, Yuki Udagawa | Stage: Stage Work URAK Co., Ltd. | Technical Coordination: Maki Ueyama, So Ozaki, Takeshi Inarimori | Head of Management: Kumi Hiraoka
KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre | Stage Mechanism: Taira Yamazoe, Toshihiko Suzuki | Lighting: Ayaka Sato, Haruka Katsube | Sound: Daisuke Hoshino, Rena Kawane | Production Manager: Toru Hirai
Co-organized by Taiwan Cultural Center, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan
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Chia-Wei Hsu + Ting-Tong Chang + Hsien-Yu Cheng
Crystal Seeding
