PARADISE CORNER 2

Exhibition Introduction

Date: Saturday, March 7
Time: 12:30 – 18:30

Stine Marie Jacobsen & Teobaldo Lagos Preller
《Law Shifters》

Law Shifters (2016-) invites citizens to take part in law and democracy by stepping into the roles of both judges and lawmakers. What verdict would you give in real court cases? And how would you change the laws in your country to make them more just?

At Matsudo Civic Theatre, the public is invited to explore ethical dilemmas through imagined climate stories together with Law Shifters founder, artist Stine Marie Jacobsen, and writer Teobaldo Lagos Preller.

The Law Shifters project encourages young people to reflect on their political views, ethical beliefs, and sense of justice. They do this by re-examining real court cases and proposing new laws that better reflect the world they live in today. At a time when direct democracy is being widely discussed, citizens’ legal proposals—even those that seem difficult to realise—can play an important role in shaping political debate.

Tianming Zhou (Alaric)
《Freshreferencing》

Fresh Fish Road was once an Edo-period express route that moved freshly landed fish inland from the Tone River through Inzai, Shiroi, Kashiwa, Kamagaya, and Matsudo, toward the Nihonbashi markets. Its “direction” was human-defined, a race against time from freshness toward decay. Today, the road’s name is gradually forgotten, and it no longer serves its original function.

Freshreferencing asks how to experience the Fresh Fish Road’s direction once its purpose has dissolved. Through multi-channel videos and a collection of photographs, it re-approximates the route as a fragmented map and assembles a field of spatial, temporal, and infrastructural vectors. Bringing fieldwork, archives, and the research process together, this project looks into a broader discussion of which systems currently orient a place, and which systems they overwrite.

Pipatpong Seepeng (Chopper)
《Crow Funeral》

In Japanese folktales, the crow symbolizes divine guidance for those who are lost. For Chopper, the crow is also a symbol of longing and comfort, reminding him of the place where he once lived and worked in Thailand.

The tapestry and carpet present an impressionistic view of the Edo River in Matsudo. The image shows a flock of crows gathering around a crow that appears to be falling from the sky, an actual behavior through which crows learn about danger and threats associated with death, though some say they are grieving. The work is installed as a memorial space to remind us of life’s fragility and uncertainty.

Crow Funeral is part of Chopper’s ongoing project, Home, which explores ways of grounding and finding comfort through making art and connecting with people.