Pleased to share Samson Young’s The World Falls Apart Into Facts (2019) at Kyoto Experiment. This work traces the genealogy of “Molihua”, a famous Chinese folk song. The song reached Europe via the British Empire during the Qing dynasty, and an arrangement of the song was eventually re-imported into China. Young researched this chronology from both cultural and political angles and presents it as an installation of video and objects. The work also includes research into other cultural genealogies that transcend borders, such as Togaku, a category of imperial court music from the Tang dynasty that was introduced to Korea and Japan.

A look back at history reveals that what we think of as “Japanese” cultural genealogies today are often adapted from or influenced by the cultures of other countries. When we discuss cultures and countries in relation to each other, we often try to incorporate such concepts as purity and authenticity, but Young disrupts that impulse with humor and curiosity.

– Courtesy of Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival Executive Committee.