Placing Spirits in the Emptiness

There is a Japanese expression, "Kyojitsu Himaku (or Hiniku)," which suggests that the truth of art emerges at the boundary between what is true and what is false, a place where they are indistinguishable. Now, since Empty Shelf calls itself a place of "emptiness," it might be the perfect spot for my texts, poems, and films I have created about bards who exist in a form that is difficult to grasp. They are like books that might be forgotten, like the wind. At Empty Shelf, it’s unclear whether something exists or not, but it feels like one could still dream there.

Itsushi Kawase is a visual anthropologist born in 1977 and currently working at the National Museum of Ethnology. He conducts anthropological research on Ethiopian bards and musicians. His work explores the intersection of anthropology, cinema, art, and literature, seeking creative narratives from these practices.