This is a horrible thing to abuse.
What was the impetus for this project?
Moriyama:The first time I met Kite (Sakuma) was when he took a documentary video of a certain dance performance. The video was very good. We talked about it, and Kite told me that he was a sound designer. We started talking about doing something together...when was that?
Sakuma:March this year...maybe February.
Moriyama:Yes, I had a meeting for another job in February or so, and we were talking over a cigarette during a break. I heard about the sound technology that Kite is currently researching, and I wanted to try it out in a new way.
It all started with a chat between Mr. Moriyama and Mr. Sakuma, didn't it?
Moriyama:Yes, I did. Ivan (Iwamoto) had been taking photos documenting my performance at the same time as Kite, and when I showed him my private work again at the time of my meeting with Kite, I really enjoyed the organic feel of expression using 80's technology.
Iwamoto:I use the technique of taking a single photograph using multiple films. I like the texture or overlapping expression that can only be achieved with this technique.
How did you decide on the VERTIGO theme?
Moriyama:There are many twists and turns, but it all started with a technology called bone conduction.
Sakuma:Normally, when we listen to sound, the stimulus reaches the auditory nerve through the eardrum of the ear. Bone conduction stimulates the auditory nerve by transmitting vibrations to the bone, not the eardrum, and this is how we perceive sound.
Moriyama:I was impressed by the unique characteristics of bone conduction.
How?
Moriyama:When I listen with my eardrums, I seem to be able to consciously choose which sounds I listen to to some extent. I can listen to the conversation over here, or concentrate on the sound of water droplets over there. With bone conduction, however, that is not possible. You can definitely hear it. Also, with bone conduction and eardrums, you can listen to the sound at the same time. For example, when studying English listening, it is easier to concentrate on listening to English. However, this is a terrible thing to abuse. If you hack a Bluetooth and continue to make people listen to political propaganda messages via bone conduction, you could do some kind of brainwashing. So you can imagine such a possibility.
Sakuma:The conversation evolved from there, and when we spent some time talking about the issues each of the three of us had and considering the significance of expression in our time, the topic of "Donald Trump's campaign" came up as one obvious example.
Moriyama:You collected personal information illegally via social networking sites and used it for your election campaign. What they thought was their own will was actually chosen for them. There were a number of other disturbing and politically charged events happening in society, such as the long administration of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Hong Kong demonstrations. The technology of bone conduction and the question of what is one's will? That was the common consciousness of the three of us.
