No pretense, absolute intimacy: Welcome to HANAYO-world
From the years she spent finding herself in the underground punk and hardcore scenes of 1980s Tokyo to her traditional training as a geisha, Hanayo has been weaving a multidisciplinary journey of creative longevity as a relentless performance and photography artist. Fueled by her curious and profound sense of observation, she captures the transient yet persistent nature of beings and objects, as well as the subtle emotions hidden within the blur of everyday life. No pretense, all instinct, and absolute intimacy.
Tune in
Hanayo’s musical journey, branching out across Tokyo, New York, London, and Berlin, promises a playground full of surprises. You might have previously heard the Stereo Total or The Divine Comedy covers of the famous Vanessa Paradis song “Joe le Taxi.” And here comes our first recommendation for stepping into Hanayo’s world: the artist’s bewildering and addictive rendition of “Joe le Taxi.” Released as a single in 2002, this cover is the perfect display of Hanayo’s cross-genre adventure and her magic in creating her own dimension in any music. Hanayo’s discography intersects with punk, noise, experimentalism, and pop, creating a distinct excitement with every turn, and it dates back to her 1995 debut album, Makka Na Shizuku. To get a taste of Hanayo’s extraordinary vocals, which manage to be simultaneously fragile and jarring, we especially suggest surrendering yourself to the album’s title track. Rooted in the spirit of punk that she discovered during her middle school years, Hanayo joined the London-based punk band Vapid Dolly (formerly Daisy Chainsaw) as a lead vocalist shortly thereafter. The band’s first and only album, released in 1997, is titled The Queen Of Pseudo Psychos. The following year, she delivered a legendary performance at New York’s legendary venue CBGB alongside Alec Empire and Merzbow. To hear the union of Merzbow’s massive universe of noise with Hanayo, as well as her mind-expanding collaborations with other names like Terre Thaemlitz, Console, and Kai Althoff, her cult album Gift, released in 2000, awaits you. Hanayo’s avant-garde approach to music draws from the same well as her productions in other fields of art, declaring that another sound world is possible and is right here.
Wooden Veil, which she founded in 2007 with her creative friends Marcel Türkowsky, Christopher Kline, Dominik Noé, and Jan Pfeiffer while in Berlin, is indeed not just a music group but a polyphonic art collective extending from costumes to rituals. In their self-titled first and only album from 2009, we witness Hanayo’s characteristic vocals transforming into an auditory ritual in a lo-fi aesthetic manner through avant-garde soundscapes and hypnotic percussions. The compositions, based on the power of improvisation and plenty of repetition, present a layered collage consisting of psychedelic folk and ritualistic performance practices. We recommend giving the Wooden Veil album a listen.
“Ever since a photography-loving teacher in middle school told me, ‘Join the photography club,’ I’ve just kept photographing the things around me. I’m just doing the same thing over and over.”
How were you first introduced to punk? What are some of your earliest memories? How does the punk ethos or punk attitude resonate with Hanayoworld today (if it does)?
In the 1980s, the Tokyo where I grew up had a punk scene—or rather, an interesting hardcore scene—and that undoubtedly shaped who I am today. I was just a kid back then, and Japan’s economy was prosperous, so I don’t think I truly grasped the rebellious spirit and philosophy born from Britain’s working class. But even as a child, I sensed I somehow didn’t fit in with society, so I found my place in the underground scene.
For nearly half a century, you have been creating authentic forms of expression and inspiring others. What, for you, is the essence of creative longevity?
Am I inspiring others? Thank you for such kind words. I’m unaware of it myself, but it makes me happy. I’m glad to be alive. The essence of creative longevity… I don’t know the answer, but I learned so much in the traditional Japanese Geisha world I was part of from ages 19 to 25. My singing and shamisen teachers from that time are still alive today—she is a 96-year-old geisha who’s still active. I also continue practicing Japanese dance every week. Singing and dancing in front of people has continued since childhood, regardless of my own will (though my parents initially sent me to ballet and piano lessons). Ever since a photography-loving teacher in middle school told me “Join the photography club,” I’ve just kept photographing the things around me. I’m just doing the same thing over and over.
Whether it’s of a human, another animal, or a doll, your photos convey the shifting and temporal nature of “bodies,” out-of-focus and often overlooked forms of their existence, and subtle emotions they might carry within. How does the presence of a live audience affect you?
I don’t usually think much about the ‘audience.’ Maybe I should do so more.
Which camera(s) and printing equipment are you currently using in your photography practice?
I use an Olympus camera. I have a specific person develop my color prints. For black and white, I occasionally develop them myself in the darkroom with a friend. I don’t get too hung up on equipment.
HANAYO’s favorite spots in TOKYO she visited as a teenager, but no longer exist
Honestly, I don’t think Tokyo has changed that much. Even prices haven’t changed much either! My favorite classical music cafes are still around. It’s sad that the revival mini theaters have disappeared. This phenomenon isn’t limited to Japan; it’s happening all over the world.
A scent unique to TOKYO, according to HANAYO
There is. But I cannot put the scent into words. It is captured in my photographs.
HANAYO’s favorite walking route in TOKYO
I’m living in the area where I grew up for the first time in 30 years now, and since I took in a stray rescue dog, I walk her every day, and it really calms me down.
Images with courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery and KehrerVerlag.
