BLACK WALKS

Body, linen flag, fabric, rope, stick

‘In black lies the possibility of hope.’ Derek Jarman

Black Walks is a series of urban walks and films, objects and a black flag that document and historicize each journey. The project began on my birthday in 2012 while I was living in Japan. I was both unsettled and intrigued by the perpetual experience of being labelled a “foreigner” (gaijin). Walking through the city carrying a large black flag emerged from a desire to assert visibility in public space, and to draw attention to those, who like me, don't have a specific national flag, dress, hometown or identity to cling to.

Since then, I have traversed four major cities, tracing paths that remember their unique political histories through topographies of immigration (London), division (Berlin), and protest (Paris).

The black flag reimagines Kazimir Malevich’s radical painting Black Square. Like the painting, it embodies a break from representation and challenges fixed notions of identity to go beyond borders to find peace in the simple action of walking. Interpretations of what I'm doing with this black flag vary by context often causing confusion due to the lack of an overt message: in Berlin, it evoked memories of the hidden workings of the Stasi; in Paris, it stirred associations with revolution.

These walks — undertaken to date in Tokyo, London, Paris, and Berlin — probe the spaces between belonging and invisibility, questioning how outsiders navigate the political dimensions of citizenship.

Black Walks performances:

Berlin, 2014 / Paris 2013 / London 2013 / Tokyo 2012

Screenings and group exhibitions:
People’s History Museum, Manchester (2016)
Where to? The future of walking arts, Falmouth University, UK (2015).
Beyond Contamination, Performance Studies International PSi Conference | Aomori Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan (2015).
Body in the Contemporary City, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona (2015).
Hagiso Gallery, Tokyo (2013)
Onca Gallery, Brighton UK (2013)
Parlour Showrooms, Bristol UK (2013)

The inaugural walk in Tokyo covered thirty kilometres, moving from the older neighbourhoods east of the Sumida River to the dazzling billboards of Shibuya, weaving through markets, temples, and parks. At one point, I passed a nationalist protest where the absence of markers on my flag sparked confusion — a moment that exposed the pressures to declare allegiance or remain alien.

Another walk took place in Berlin on November 9, 2014, the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall. A woman joined me briefly, sharing stories of her work with Syrian refugees. “I know why you do this,” she said. “You’re completely depressed because of the political situation in the world.” Her words gave form to what had been inarticulate — a shared sense of grief and endurance.

In 2015, Black Walks became part of Field Trip Project Asia, curated by Daisuke Takeya, and continues as a travelling work activated throughout Far East Asia. It consists of a walking score, the Drapeau photo series, and a black flag inscribed with the words Walk for World Peace.

This utopian gesture emphasizes action over rhetoric — an invitation to walk the walk instead of talking the talk. It is a pursuit of collective transformation that happens through the body.

Black Walks: Field Trip Project Asia

National Museum of Marine Science & Technology and Bamboo Curtain Studio Taiwan (2020) >>

Japan Foundation, Yangon, Myanmar (2019) >> Review

BACC Bangkok, Thailand co-curated by Tentacles (2019) >>

Kuala Lumpur Biennale, Malaysia (2017)

'Temperature of Communication', Oil Street Art Space, Hong Kong, (2017).

Made of Walking, Animart Conference, Delphi Greece, 2016.

Vargas Museum, Manila, Philippines (2015).

NIE Gallery, Singapore (2015).