《充分に親密》 close enough

In November 2022, as part of the art festival “Flatline City,” ten participants — friends and volunteers — gathered to examine the distance between ourselves and the detention of journalist Toru Kubota in Myanmar.

Most participants had no prior knowledge of the case. The starting point was a question: how can we think about a civil war and a political detention when these events feel remote from our own lives?

Following a presentation, those who had been engaged with the case — despite their own conflicts and uncertainties — spoke openly about their thoughts and feelings. They did so within a 2.5 × 4 meter area, the dimensions of a cell in Insein Prison, where Kubota was being held. While speaking, they ate the same curry served to detainees at lunch and dinner. The space prompted conversations not only among the participants but also with visitors to the exhibition. The program also included a talk by Yuki Kitazumi, a journalist who had previously been detained in the same prison.