Short Animation É in Motion No.2

Material: USB with original box with illustration

Sumito Sakakibara was born in 1980 in Tokachi, Hokkaido. In 1996, he went to England alone. After working as an overseas student at the Agency for Cultural Affairs, he completed his doctoral program in animation at the RCA (Royal College of Art) in 2004. After returning to Japan, I made my production base in Nagano Prefecture.

It is known for its animated video works such as “Floating Tower,” which won the Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize, “É IN MOTION No. 2,” which received rave reviews at the DOMANI exhibition (2015), and “Solitarium,” which was presented at the 30th anniversary exhibition “Spectrum,” and the film was screened at museums, art festivals, etc., and invited to screen at many overseas film festivals, etc. Also, “Iizuna Fair-,” which was created in 2021, was announced as the first exhibition after the Nagano Prefectural Museum of Art renovation in 2021, and is still being screened as a permanent exhibition. He is an animation artist who has received numerous awards and invitations for this film at animation festivals around the world, and his talent is attracting worldwide attention.

This animation is “É in Motion No. 2,” which was produced in 2013. This work was presented at the DOMANI exhibition (The National Art Center, Tokyo) in 2013. From a bird's-eye view, the screen progresses from left to right like a picture scroll, and the peaceful and beautiful world and the cruel world such as war and violence are connected, yet each character transcends the ages simultaneously and frequently, and bluntly captures the fact that they are living. I will give it to you with the USB in the original illustration box. (You cannot choose a pattern)

It was originally created assuming a 360-degree circular projection installation. It was screened at animation festivals around the world and won the Grand Prix. (Switzerland, Portugal, Russia, etc.)

What is looped through in Sakakibara's work is the inner world of humans and their actions, which is difficult to capture at first glance. It is not directly depicted, and it gradually comes to light as it is repeated in slight differences and situations being talked about.

The characters continue to perform their respective roles, and while the work unfolds like a picture scroll, it is also like a single stage at the same time, and it is as if we were quietly watching the activities from a high audience seat in the theater.

What is depicted there is a pure, bare, and sometimes cruel appearance of a human being repeated over time, and a straight gaze. It's an absurd, yet extremely human scene that certainly exists in reality. People just live casually, playing their respective roles.

It is also said that people are the first to be caught by their own interests. Countless characters continue to move at the same time in Sakakibara's animation. In the midst of that, who would you turn your eyes to?