This artistic catfish performance by Danish artist Eske Kath and singer Oh land is brilliantly absurd when you have no idea what the background is behind it. It is, in fact, a historic Japanese myth acted out in the midst of Eske Kath’s solo exhibition entitled Namazu-Event at the newly opened La Viola Gallery located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, NY.
The exhibition consists of an installation of a giant catfish diving up from a red surface in the cracked floor, a series of collages made from pictures of outer space, photographs of a fish-man and a girl as seen above, along with a series of large paintings. All of which were inspired by the Japanese myth of Namazu.
According to the myth of Namazu, which you will find is featured on many Japanese wood carvings, the whole country of Japan rested on the back of a catfish, which was held in place by a God who held the fish pointing down holding a stone over its head. But when the God left one day, to do Godly things presumably, the stone was off and the fish was loose, causing a devastating earth quake.
The Namazu-Event is on until January 3rd.
Fish Hugging
Slimy Performance Art Based on the Japanese Namazu Myth
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