Are you looking for something?

Are you looking for something?
2022
Performance, single channel video, 05’41”

In response to the customary phrase heard in commercial spaces, “Are you looking for something?” Yamaguchi turns the question back on the shop staff, asking, “Is there something you’re looking for in life?” This unexpected reply transforms the standard interaction into a curious dialogue, sometimes evolving into a philosophical conversation.

“Are you looking for something?”

Stuck on ideas for my creative work, I began wandering aimlessly from Yoyogi-Uehara and stopped by a secondhand clothing store in Shimokitazawa that caught my eye along the way.

I always become flustered by the smiling staff member’s question.

I’m not looking for anything in this store right now. Furthermore, is there really anything I’m truly searching for in life?

Reluctantly, the answer “a sense of being alive” crossed my mind, but I stopped myself just as it reached my throat. I knew what would happen next if I said it.

“I am looking for a sense of being alive.”

Either way, the awkward atmosphere remains unchanged.

After I answered, the staff member said “I see” with a forced smile and went to another customer.

When did I become unable to walk without purpose? 

When did I stop getting lost?

From my diary, December 2021