The Centre for the Less Good Idea is an interdisciplinary incubator space for the arts based in Maboneng, Johannesburg

Michikazu Matsune

Austria-based Japanese performance-artist and choreographer Michikazu Matsune will be forming a part of The Centre for the Less Good Idea’s Season 4 with and enigmatic piece titled Goodbye.

Through the performing of numerous goodbye letters from the global archive, Matsune will explore the curious relationship between statements of fact and emotional, or affective meaning. Is it a sadness or anger that we feel when listening in on other people’s parting words, or is it more of a relief that our own goodbyes have yet to come?

Much of Matsune’s interests lies in testing poetic absurdity to reflect our society, both critically and playfully. Themes such as the relationship between the body and the object, action and language, place and behaviour form crucial roles in his conceptual practice.
Delivered as a series of statements, Goodbye provokes audiences to puzzle out the transaction of universal feelings through deeply personal records.

Deliberately bringing together his ability to play and critique, choreographer and performance artist, Michikazu Matsune is not shy to explore a range of spaces, from homes to stages to public museums. His work is an interdisciplinary approach which allows him to investigate themes such as the relationship between subject and object, and action and language. His performances also include visual art such as hand painted posters which still resonate with his signature playful critique. His most notable work has been the provocative piece titled Dance If You Want To Enter My Country which is based on the true story of Adbur Rahim Jackson who had to prove his profession as a dancer to officers at airport security interrogations. In continuing his artistic practice, Matsune teaches performance in Austria and Germany. He is originally from Japan and currently based in Vienna. For Season 4 of The Centre for the Less Good Idea, the artist will perform a reading of numerous ‘goodbye’ letters from the global archive. In doing so, the enigmatic relationship between statements of fact, and emotional, or affective meaning will be explored.