TOMOKI KAKITANI
	We corresponded with Tomoki via the world wide web and wound up delving into the mystery of everyday life and artistic process. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Please tell us a little bit about your background. TOMOKI KAKITANI: I was born and raised in Osaka, Japan and went to an art university in Kyoto. I now work as a visual artist as well as a musician. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Can you describe your process in creating 20members? TOMOKI KAKITANI: I often create video work by combining fragmentary elements together. For this work, I wanted to try to create a narrative by teaming the elements up rather than actually combining the images. Just around the same time, the phrase “20 members” suddenly came right off the top of my head. And the idea and the phrase linked very much in me and took shape. I was quite fond of the thought that each small image is like a member of a group with respective personalities. I wanted to name each character and the rest of the working process came off smoothly. LUMEN ECLIPSE: How long did it take you to produce all 20 videos – have these ideas been brewing for a long time? TOMOKI KAKITANI: As I had to make the piece by certain time, it took me about three month to produce. But the inspiration I used was something I had been brewing for a while. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Where did you find the music for Song Bird? TOMOKI KAKITANI: I, myself, create music for my work. The music for Song Bird is a sound you have liked once hearing in your dream or somewhere but you can no longer remember how it goes when you become awake. LUMEN ECLIPSE: What is the connection between your drawings and your video work? TOMOKI KAKITANI: They are both derived from similar inspiration. The difference is, say, the way of representation and how it’s seen. Video work is easier to link with sound and more transformable than drawing in that sense. My idea is that drawing, video, and sound all entwine and become comprehensive work. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Are making drawings and making videos similar processes? TOMOKI KAKITANI: To me, it is. Not only have I used drawing in my video work but the tendency in which I place and leave fragmentary elements without too much explanation is the same. It is often the case that more images or video works are developed from a drawing. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Your work seems to imply a certain mystery in everyday life. Is life mysterious? TOMOKI KAKITANI: Something like that. Not that my real daily life is mysterious, but I like to envision enigmatic phenomena in life. That has become the ideas for my work. I enjoy the sense of mischief laying out mysteries. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Are you very influenced by Japanese culture? TOMOKI KAKITANI: I have not had a chance to properly study traditional Japanese culture, so I don’t think there is a direct influence to my works up till now. I may bear an aesthetic of contemporary Japanese but I am not personally conscious of it. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Do you feel comfortable in the world of fine art? Do you feel a part of it? TOMOKI KAKITANI: Since I don’t have a strong and solid sense of the art world, it’s hard to say. But I think it would be nice if artists can address that anyone can and is entitled to have their own ideas and to enjoy doing so in any type of society – that they are free to imagine. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Are there any artists that you are excited by right now? TOMOKI KAKITANI: Again I am not so familiar with the art scene but I like Ryoko Aoki. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Are you in a band? Is music important to you? TOMOKI KAKITANI: Yes, I am in a band and not just my music but all kind of music is important to me. Music is my inspiration and also a way to express myself. LUMEN ECLIPSE: Where do you live, and is this a good place to make art? TOMOKI KAKITANI: I live in Kyoto, the Japanese old capital. I think it is interesting for an artist to live and work in a historical city.