Journal: Precarious Tasks #9, 24hrs Gathering

The public opening event of Koki Tanaka’s new commission Precarious Tasks #9: 24hrs Gathering.

Accompanying his commission
 in the Lower Gallery, Koki Tanaka embarks on a series of events, which he refers to as ‘actions’, over a 24-hour period. Programmed within a loose framework shaped by communal involvement and group experiences of everyday rituals, the events refer to past iterations of his ongoing series 
of works entitled Precarious Tasks. Events include a public reading,
 a tea-drinking ceremony, and a core group of participants are invited to eat and spend the night sleeping over in the galleries. Audiences are welcome to drop in and out of the events throughout the day and night.

Artist’s Note

How do we react when disaster strikes? Do we stay where we are and assess the situation? Observe and monitor what’s happening? When do we decide to leave and face the consequences?

On March 11, 2011 one of my friends, an artist, was at an exhibition of his work in a gallery in downtown Tokyo. When the Tohoku earthquake struck the city, he decided to stay in the gallery building until he could find out what was happening outside. In the end, himself, an employee of the gallery and several visitors were stuck there for a number of days.

How was their experience of spending such a long period of time with other people, strangers, in such an unexpected situation?

On 27 June 2014, Precarious Tasks #9 will try to approximate – but not recreate - my friend’s experience by inviting participants to spend 24 hours together with me in the galleries of the ICA. During this period we will take part in several events in order to communicate our experience of this unusual situation. Participants can freely come and go and other visitors of the ICA are welcome to join us by dropping in and out of the events.

Events include reading aloud from our favorite books in public, and drinking tea made from teabags and tealeaves brought along by the participants. There will also be talks, screenings and discussions on the themes of participation, disasters and riots. A core group of participants are invited to eat and spend the night sleeping over in the galleries.

Precarious Tasks #9 is not a re-enactment of a 'not going home' situation, but simply a way of finding out what can – and cannot – be done, said, thought and shared in 24 hours together.

Activity Schedule

Precarious Tasks #9
27 - 28 June 2014

11:00 - 11:30:    Coffee and Orientation of the day

11:30 - 12:00:    Health and Safety Introduction

12:00 - 12:30:    Lead group to St James Park

12:30 - 13:30:    Activity 1: Reading to the public at St James's Park

13:30 - 15:00:    Lunch

15:00 - 17:00:    Activity 2: Friday Salon: Gallery as Community

17:00 - 17:30:    Break for participants

17:30 - 19:00:    Activity 3: Re-staging Precarious Tasks #0: Communal tea drinking

19:00 - 20:00:    Dinner

20:00 - 21:00:    Activity 4: Talk: Riot From Wrong

21:00 - 22:00:    Activity 5: Talk: Sharing a Disaster with Others: Contemporary Japanese Art and the Utopian Promise of Tohoku

22:00 - 23:00:    Activity 6: Film Screening: Into Eternity - A Film for the Future

23:00 - 00:00:    Prepare Studio as location for core member group to sleep

00:00 - 09:00:    Sleep

10:00 - 11:00:    Breakfast & Activity: Re-staging Precarious Tasks #4: Sharing dreams with others and then putting together a collective story

Please note that photographs will be taken by the artist Koki Tanaka throughout the day, both for his archive and for the ICA to reproduce for promotion and advertising of the programme on the ICA website and other channels. If you have any objections and do not wish to be photographed, please make us aware on arrival at the ICA.

In partnership with ArtWorks: Developing Practice in Participatory Settings, a Paul Hamlyn Special Initiative.