

SILENCE. THE FLAME. MUTED.
The Olympic flame symbolizes unity and resilience, connecting Tokyo 1964’s rebirth to the resilience of the 2021 Games during a global pandemic.
„Es war ein
sonniger Tag…“
Im Oktober 1964. Ich war in der ersten Klasse. Das, was ich als Erstklässler erlebt habe, ist natürlich etwas anderes als das, was man als Erwachsener erlebt. Ich saß in der ersten Klasse der Grundschule und plötzlich wurde ich durch eine Durchsage gebeten zum Schultor zu kommen, um von meiner Mutter abgeholt zu werden. Wir gingen zu den Olympischen Spielen ins Stadion. Das hat mich überrascht, vor allem, weil es durch eine offizielle Schuldurchsage kommuniziert wurde. Das war äußerst ungewöhnlich.
„It was a sunny day...“
Ocotber 1964. I was in the first grade. What I experienced as a first grader is of course different from what you experience as an adult. I was sitting in the first class of primary school and suddenly an announcement asked me to come to the school gate to be picked up by my mother. We were going to the stadium for the Olympic Games. This surprised me, especially because it was communicated through an official school announcement. That was extremely unusual.
Shingo Shimada, Vernissage 02. Juni 2022, IN-EAST Duisburg
Copyright Pictures: IOC, 1964
SILENCE.
THE FLAME.
MUTED.



SILENCE.
THE FLAME.
MUTED.

2020








2021
23th July 2021 It is now just before 6 p.m., 5:40 p.m. And I'm sitting in the Olympic Stadium. It is already an exciting sight. All the mad photographers have arrived. I'm sitting in position "A", relatively central and good. And yes, now we can wait for the spectacle. At the photo briefing, there was no restriction whatsoever as far as Corona was concerned, so there were simply 500 photographers in one spot. The stadium is empty, very restrictive. The royal family will also be sitting here, which means it's an exciting moment, because that was also the case in 1964, so to speak, that the games were assigned to the emperor (as a person of honour). They are here again today. And yes, we can wait and see. A lot will happen here with projections, from all directions. That means the interior is white and you can wait and see what exciting things will happen…


…So, back from the opening ceremony. I am pretty exhausted. Yes, it was an hour longer than planned, then of course the transport back didn't work at all. As usual here now with the Japanese, a disaster. The opening ceremony was quite nice. But I have to be honest: it wasn't a big highlight. I really thought there would be more. Many chances were more or less wasted. Especially with regard to the speeches and so on given by the IOC etc. That was not good, in my opinion. The beginning of the opening was great and also the end was quite cool, because there was one or two good moments. (Example: the staging of the pictograms). But basically: what was important was not thematised. That was a pity. My summary: it was a great experience.
And now: good night.

























The exhibition. 08. April - 26. June 2022, Japanisches Kulturinstitut (Japan Foundation) Cologne.
SILENCE. The Olympic fire is important, it is one of the most significant symbols. The „fire“ stands for the Olympic spirit and for international understanding.
In 1964, the Olympic Games were opened in Tokyo. Today they are seen as the turning point of post-war reconstruction for Japanese history and society. The world‘s view of the country was special.
57 years later, themes such as rebirth and resilience are once again the focus of the internal and external gaze on Japan. The years 2020 / 2021 of the XXXII Olympiad symbolise for Japan and the mega-metropolis Tokyo the resilience of a world society in the midst of a global pandemic.
Images, text fragments and sound documents are an important part of this transmedial narration with an unusual view of emotions as well as lonely and banal moments of these Olympic Games in 2021 in Tokyo - which were different.
THE FLAME. MUTED.
Further exhibitions: IN-EAST Institute Duisburg (since June 2022), Photofestival in Arles (03. - 10. July 2022).
+ MORE
01 DER KREIS SCHLIESST SICH / THE CIRCLE
02 ERLEBEN / TO EXPERIENCE
03 ERFAHREN / TO LEARN
04 GESTALTEN (DIGITAL WORLD) / TO SHAPE
05 INDEX
06 SILENCE-TALK WITH OLYMPIC HEROS
07 EXHIBITION APP
08 INTERVIEW
The book.
Format: 28.8 × 23 cm + panorama pages + insert pages
Hardcover + screen printing
Scope: 220 pages, top quality offset printing
Paper: 148g/m2 Fedrigoni Arena Extra White Rough
Climate-neutral and sustainably produced on FSC®-certified paper by the printing company "druckpartner" in Germany
Printing: June 2022
Limited Edition: 50 pieces
+ CONTRIBUTORS
A special thanks to the whole team. Without you, the project would never have become what it is today. Thanks for all the input, for all sketches and constructions, for the designs, for the creation in Unreal, for printing, for music composition and interactive design, thanks for choosing the right pictures with me and pushing my limits:
Jochen Peitz, Navid Razavi, Daniel J. Sperling, Tobias Oebel, Sven Maresch, Frederic Ranft, Nicki Graczyk, Tobias von Aesch, Kai Jünemann, Dirk Gebhardt, Bianca Reimann, Björn Weber, Jochen Lauscher, Addick Addicks, Christian Tagsold, Ulf Meyer, DokuMe, Dirk Behrendt, MKW NRW, Druckpartner and Buchbinderei Reinartz.
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