Erotica in my grandmother’s bathroom

Like many people before me, I had to admit that my parents’ ideal image and marriage was a utopia. Divorce after 28 years of “happiness” became a reality and a very overdramatic and dark one. About eight years later, my sister and I had to move out of the space where we were born, raised, that we grew up in and planned on staying in until the rest of our days, probably. A very difficult phase, but also a relief after so many years of struggling and waiting – at last a result that you could react to.

For some reason I keep on thinking back on some dreams that I had as a child about this old house being sold and my sister and I fighting for it… was that a dream or a sixth sense? So maybe in some way I was already mentally preparing to be strong for that day even before the age of six…

So, for a little longer than a week ago, I heard that Danish artist, Asemota, from the island of Bornholm, had used the demolished interior of the house to show his work and that it was free to enter. As a first reaction: of course I wouldn’t want to go and see it! it would be too hurtful and bizare to see the demolished interiors of “my” old house.

A couple of days later, I heard from someone else that the exhibition had been announced in television… that small reminder made me think again; I had just come back from a trip in Japan, which had made me decide to work harder on moving on and getting stronger, I had just told my sister about being tired of blaming the misery and recent psychological weaknesses on the exhaustion caused by family conflicts – and so, would it not exactly be a therapeutical must to go visit this messy old place, to realize that it was transforming into something new and different?

This new way of thinking and motivation to go reminded me of a Japanese funeral, where you are confronted with this odd way of burning a body and afterwards having to choose a piece of bone to place in the urn with these big chopsticks… a manner that actually is helpful to realize that what used to be a person no longer is.

So, impulsive as I can be, I decided to go to Ny Vestergade 3. First I silently went all the way up, walking through each room of the seven stories. A somewhat ironic scenery was how my grandmother’s old bathroom had turned into a closet of erotic images – why not?… Some rooms I had to think before finding out what it used to be, which was odd, but fun at the same time. The rooms seemed brighter and the old library area reminded me of something you would see in New York. Other rooms reminded me of exhibitions you would see in Berlin, where the venues are more raw and edgy. Every room had a different mood and totally different from the original moods.

When I walked all the way down again, I met the artist himself. We had a chat and I let him know the purpose of my visit and that I grew up in the house. He then told me, that people who had known my grandmother had been there to see the house as well. We talked about life as an artist and how at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter what school you  come from or not, but that you will succeed, if you really want to. It turned out that the buyers of the house are a family, like mine, and that the house would stay a family house. What a relief! houses that don’t end up getting chopped up in small apartments are a rarity these days and I was thrilled to discover that they were doing what I would have done if I had the chance.

One funny thing was that they are going to build an elevator; something my parents had been talking about for their “older” days. I guess the new owners will miss out on the workout, hehe.

All in all, this was a great experience. I looked my past right in the eyes and erased some data on this very full hard drive of a brain, dropped the heavy stone of fear of losing the house to a careless money obsessed company AND gained inspiration and advice from a kind fellow creator. So now, I can look forward without anything lurking behind me. One step towards the new, better and stronger life.

For more information about the artist, please check out his website: http://www.asemota.com

 

Sumo wrestling – an ancient martial art

During the month of may I had the opportunity to go see a Sumo wrestling tournament for real in Ryogoku, Tokyo.

Sumo wrestling is considered as a martial art, although it is very different from other eastern martial arts. For ranking, you can only gain by winning at an official tournament. You can also loose and therefore go down in rank again. So there is a certain pressure to maintain one’s personal level, which might not really exist in other martial arts (other than the pressure of your own conscience).

Sumo wrestling has been a big part of entertainment and it has also kept alive many shinto rituals. The wrestlers throw salt for purification and the announcer of the wrestlers sings their names to the east and to the west.

I remember, that my grandparents followed the tournaments in television, but I always thought it was so slow and boring to watch… until I went to see it live! There is a world of difference between watching a screen and watching these massive bodies collide for real. You feel the vibrations when someone falls, you hear the clash when the wrestlers run in to each other. They are almost not human any longer; more like two big naked bulls of some sort. Very impressive and understandable that such tournaments could bring a whole community alive and entertain so many before media existed.

If one day you should travel to Japan and it happened to be Sumo season, I would highly recommend to go see it! The more expensive seats are of course to be preferred, as you get really close to the wrestlers, but just being there is an unforgettable experience. If you arrive from the morning, you will see the lower ranked wrestlers and gradually see and understand the progress of strength and techniques when the more experienced wrestlers enter the stadium.

Ouzoud Waterfalls

This is the first time I post something that I didn’t write myself, but it was just such an inspiring post by my Elena Levon, that I had to share it with more people 😉

Ouzoud Waterfalls.

Two little commercials that I worked on

Just realized, that there are a couple of short movies and commercials that I worked on and that are viewable on youtube 🙂

so here is one of them. Quite funny.

Gold Medal Bodies – Floor 1

So here is a little trailer, that I stumbled upon. A program that I filmed and edited in Hawaii last summer. Hope you will be inspired to check out the whole program. Great workout, great way to get new skills for daily life and fun! and the coaches are great 😉

Balsamico vinegar at French Fair in Tokyo

From April 18th to 23rd we will launch our balsamico vinegar at the French Fair at Isetan in Shinjuku. Hopefully it will be successful!

四月18日〜23日新宿ISETANのフレンチ・フェアーで家のバルサミコ酢がデビューします。良かったら行ってみて下さい！

Year of the Dragon

Here is my latest video, shot at St Rémy la Varenne in France. A Taiji Quan group that my friend is teaching at were celebrating the Chinese New Year’s eve. Very beautiful and creative evening.

Thinking back on my journey to the land of the rising sun…

23, having understood the source of happiness for a glimpse, realizing that the only way out would be to leave everything and everyone behind, pursuing a dream that was barely palpable.
Packing one suitcase, 200.000 Yen in the pocket, not yet knowing where and how to live – this was a one way ticket…
Getting in touch with an unknown person only a week before take off about a possible one week stay.
I sat in the airplane, the motor started and that’s when I thought “I don’t know, when I am ever going back…”

I have been so lucky and grateful to meet people who embraced me as a real member of their family. A couple of arguments, a lot of struggling with language, but maybe most of all with myself and my past…

6 months later, I have my own apartment in the big big labyrinth of Tokyo. I finally arrive at the big beautiful Film School. I sit in one of the red theatre chairs – only understanding 60% of what the different teachers are saying, but never mind: I came all this way! this is it! I am here!

Walking over one of the bridges of my neighborhood, the city is lit by thousands of colourful lights, shining in the glossy rain. Even with dozens of worries running around in my head I couldn’t stop smiling – realizing the big step that I had taken. Coming from a lilliputian country of giants, I was now standing in one of the world’s biggest and tallest cities so filled with small unknown people – a rush of content and accomplishment, even well-knowingly walking in the dark tunnel of uncertainty.

If you live through other people’s eyes, you do not live your own life, but if you only live according to yourself, you do not exist. Existing is therefore a balance between thinking of others and thinking of yourself – to take care of yourself in order to have energy to care for others. To get to that balance, you need to dig up the roots, cut the strings for a while to create yourself.

On my way home from work at Bisty’s Wine Bar, I sat along Onagi-river with a sakura-sour… pondering upon my life in Denmark, my upbringing, my parents, all the things I had left behind and all that I was about to struggle through.
To think that I had come so far and yet not at all. To feel like being on top of the world and yet know that this was just the beginning of a very long adventure – yes, adventure. Most people would probably call it a battle, but I choose to make it positive. If it is a battle, there is a risk of losing or no longer knowing the meaning of it; but an adventure takes turns, changes it’s course many times through mingling paths without ever losing it’s meaning.

A point that differs us from animals is our search for a meaning of our lives and actions. According to the human being life has to have a meaning. It’s not just about surviving but also about evolving and exchanging.

Tidy up your desk!

So after about 6 months of storage at my sister’s, I finally got my desktop computer up and running again!
I had a plan of putting it on the desk in my bedroom, so that in busy times or cold times, I could just lock myself up in there to work work work (oh yeah, I am one of those workaholics) and the big screen would be perfect for watching movies in the sofa.
Anyway. This desk had been collecting dust and notes, tickets, wires… so many many things, that I couldn’t even see the table anymore. There was an old response from a job application I wrote in 2006 and I didn’t get, contact info to a person that I don’t even remember who is, gospel songs that I had been singing at the choir in Tokyo, earphones for mobile phones that I don’t even own anymore… and then I found two postcards from my dear sister. One for my 19th birthday and another one from around the same period of time. At that time she was studying in Osaka and I was here in France. She wrote about how she had difficulties with the language, how she missed to have someone to talk to and how she was enjoying walking in the mountains in Himeji. Although I have just come back from her 30th birthday party yesterday, those cards made me all of a sudden miss my sister so much! So this post is an homage to my dear, beloved sister – best human being in the world, best big sister in the universe – my big sister, with her freckles, smiling eyes, curly hair and funky shirts! You are my reason to keep on going. Thank you for greeting me at arrival in this world and not leaving my galaxy.

Lazy Sunday

Apparently the road workers are not called on duty on a sunday when it’s been snowing all night… so, as I didn’t have winter tires on the car, nor any skis, I did not get very far before thinking, that it would probably be best to turn around and drive home again… almost slipped right into the church. Imagine the scene: sunday mass filled church and a big red car slides in the door. Oops, I thought I was late, hehe, awkward smile.
Oh well, what to do, when you are stranded and can not go to sunday cake at your friend’s? After the long walk with the dog, there is only one solution!
Try out the new herbal shisha with freshly scooped snow 🙂 very nice…

Happy winter sunday!