ON LIMITS

ON LIMITS – night view of the glass-fronted #Sonoaida studio in Yurakucho, Tokyo, with the ON LIMITS sign at the entrance

ON LIMITS
2023
Performance, mixed media, installation
Variable size
Performance at Shinyurakucho#Sonoaida, Tokyo, 23 Feb 2023

This performance and installation was created during a residency program at Shinyurakucho#Sonoaida, which was awarded to Yamaguchi as a supplementary prize for the A-TOM ART AWARD 2022. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, many buildings in Yurakucho were requisitioned by the Allied occupation forces, and the area became one where OFF LIMITS signs (meaning No Entry for Japanese) were posted everywhere.

Shinyurakucho#Sonoaida functioned as an open studio for its resident artists, and during his residency Yamaguchi paid attention to the way office workers and passersby, drawn in by the work, would casually step in and out of the studio. By placing a sign reading ON LIMITS—the antonym of OFF LIMITS—at the entrance to Sonoaida, Yamaguchi emphasized that this space is now open to everyone.

The title of this work was also adopted as the title for the residency program’s exhibition. On the day of the opening, Yamaguchi performed a piece in which he carried a sandwich board bearing the words ON LIMITS on his back to attract the attention of passersby.

ON LIMITS – the artist performing as a sandwich man in front of the studio, holding the ON LIMITS signboard
ON LIMITS – archival photograph of a post-war Tokyo street sign advertising a club for Allied personnel
ON LIMITS – research collage of photographs and handwritten notes on the requisitioned buildings of Yurakucho
ON LIMITS – research collage with a hand-drawn map of the Yurakucho area and handwritten notes
ON LIMITS – research collage comparing photographs of Times Square in New York with handwritten notes
ON LIMITS – research collage around a front page of the Stars and Stripes newspaper from the occupation period
ON LIMITS – research collage of occupation-era newspaper clippings and handwritten notes on entry permits
ON LIMITS – research collage of OFF LIMITS signs and neon club signs from occupied Tokyo
ON LIMITS – research collage on the post-war Recreation and Amusement Association, with handwritten notes
ON LIMITS – interior of the #Sonoaida studio with the ON LIMITS sign hung above the entrance
ON LIMITS – night view of the open studio with visitors inside, seen from the street