WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS FLASHING LIGHTS

Composed of artists from diverse backgrounds – such as visual art, music, video, dance, design, and computer programming – and with no fixed director, the artist collective Dumb Type has used innovative technologies to explore poignant questions about the role of technology, as well as various issues in contemporary society, since forming in 1984. Active both in Japan and internationally, the group changes members and modes of expression according to each new project, resulting in interdisciplinary performances and installations that refuse to be confined to existing genres.
The new installation that Dumb Type unveiled at the Japan Pavilion of the 59th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia (2022) has been adapted into a live theatrical remix format for this performance. Through Dumb Type’s unique and sophisticated audio-visual expressions, this work raises questions about truth and humanity’s future in an age in which the prominence of social media has caused information to become distorted, and encourages people to think about methods of communication and perceiving the world.

Filming & Editing: TAKATANI Shiro
Sound Editing: HAMA Satoshi
Recorded on November 30th, 2022, at Teatro Goldoni, Venice
Presented by Dumb Type and The Japan Foundation（JF） (https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/)
（ｃ）Dumb Type All Rights Reserved

＜Performance Credits＞
DUMB TYPE: TAKATANI Shiro, SAKAMOTO Ryuichi, FURUDATE Ken, MINAMI Takuya, HAMA Satoshi
Voices: David Sylvian, TAKEUCHI Maria, Kahimi Karie, Niki

Field Recordings (originally recorded for the installation Playback directed by Ryuichi Sakamoto for the Dumb Type Exhibition at Haus der Kunst Munich in 2022):
YAN Jun (Beijing), Crosby BOLANI (Cape Town), Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Chiang Mai), Kali MALONE & Stephen O’MALLEY (La Tour-de-Peilz), Mukul PATEL (London), John WARWICKER (Melbourne), Martin HERNANDEZ (Mexico City), Giuseppe LA SPADA (Monte Etna), Damian LENTINI (Munich), Alec FELLMAN (New York), Andri Snær MAGNASON & Kaśka PALUCH (Reykjavik), Jaques MORELENBAUM (Rio de Janeiro), Atom Heart (Santiago), CHENG Chou (Taipei), Nima MASSALI (Tehran), ONO Seigen (Tokyo)

Stage Manager: OSHIKA Nobuaki
Production Coordinator: TAKATANI Yoko
Planning and Production by Dumb Type Office Ltd.

Publicity Design: MINAMI Takuya, TAKATANI Shiro
Ticket/Front of House: Teatro Goldoni, Venice

Organized by The Japan Foundation

“What is the Earth?
What is the shape of the Earth?
Of what is the Earth composed?
What is a Continent?
How many Continents are there?
On which Continent do we live?
What is an Ocean?
What is an Island?
What is a Mountain?
What is Volcano?
Who governs an Empire?
Who governs a Kingdom?
Who governs a Republic?
Which is the largest Empire in the world?
Which is the largest Kingdom in the world?
Which is the largest Republic in the world?
In what Division of the Earth do we live?
When you look at the rising Sun, What Ocean is before you?
When you look at the setting Sun, What Ocean is before you?
Which is the largest Island in the World?
How many Countries are there?
How are the divided?
What Country furthest north?
What Country furthest south?
In what Country do we live?
Where is Cape Farewell?”

(Excerpt from “First Lessons In Geography”, by James Monteith 1856)