No.1 How would you describe this week in a sentence?
In one sentence? Hectic, I mean, I don't even know… I am so busy. [laughs]
Would you like to elaborate?
Sure. I don't even remember what I have done this week, so I actually need to take a look. Okay, in a week... [looks at her calendar] I was in Miami [on the] 25th, so like a week ago; I landed, and then from the next day, for two days in a row we had a rehearsal for a show on the 28th, so we stayed up till midnight preparing for all that stuff. [During] the daytime I had to work and after that we had the rehearsal, but it was amazing. So many people came over to [see what] I was showing and that was great. Then the next day work was so busy, and then I had to deal with NEW INC residency, so I had to work with Collin, who is an audio engineer, so we were just concentrating [on that]; we Google Meet and [went over] ‘what should we answer’ after work. Then, well, what else? The next day we were still working, and I had a meeting with people from the Japan Village summer events relations. Then I have a grand opening of Every Women Biennale [https://www.everywomanbiennial.com/] coming up this weekend, so I've been contacting the organizer, and at the same time, Kanami and I, who is the dancer, started rehearsing for their closing party. [Laughs] I know it's just too much going on. We also started working on a project for May. This [one] is using a sensor, so we were thinking about using either a brainwave scanner, heartbeat tracking or stress level tracking, or heat tracking for the performance. And we're probably gonna have a show in Japan Village so it's gonna be big. It's gonna happen in the summer but I will start discussing these things.
And so that was my week.
Wow. What a week.
Yeah, yeah. It's just, that's why I don't even remember [it] right. So [a] sentence could be - I was insanely busy in art but I love it.
Thank you. We could [also] fit this into the week.
No.2 An artwork that inspired you this week? It can be any art form, any medium.
Let me see… this week… Well, maybe it's not an art form but me and another friend who [is a] creative technologist, she's been using the software called TouchDesigner and she has been playing with Claude Code, which is [an] AI coding generator. We were having a meeting and put on some information from a brain scanner and then just asked the AI to generate interactive audio visuals. And it really happened, within 30 minutes. It was not that amazing but it was representable in a way, so we were thinking about using those things. She's also pregnant and we were thinking about using [the] baby's heartbeat, and to get those sensors and show some visuals. We were seeing something happening within [the] technology and then, you know, the baby is growing. It just felt amazing to me that [in] 30 minutes you can do that, but at the same time, using organic heartbeat. And if we are thinking about those kinds of transformations in between something physically happening and some technological things, how much technology can do, it's very exciting and inspiring.
That's great, thank you. That is so cool!
It's just, every day, I feel like I've seen somebody's art. A week before I was in Miami and I saw so much art too and that was so nice.
No.3 A memorable moment from this week. You had many so -
Too many [laughs], but I think it was the show at the Coiffeur Hair Salon. We had an interactive dance and visual audio things. It was amazing. We had a maximum number of people come over, so it was great. Probably the most memorable.
Anything that surprised you about that show?
I mean, it's not really surprising, but of course we saw that there are some things that we could improve in the future. So you're like, ‘oh, I missed this, and I missed this’, and people.. no one will know that, but we know. We know we missed it. But it was still amazing, and we got great reviews. Kanami, [the] dancer, she's already popular, so we sort of expected to have this number of people coming over, but still, having that many people coming over felt not surprising, but felt better.
4. So, this is a two-part question. Feel free to answer either, or both, or none.
A motto you swear by and or an advice you received and would like to share.
I’m trying to think. Well, I already have two things, but I always try to think about, you know, [how] people are different. And sometimes, [when putting on a show] there are so many things to do. But I know that some people don't really see [it] that way. They're just coming and showing their art, and they do appreciate it, but it's easy to forget that ‘she's doing this, this, this and this…’ Because of the circumstances, [I] felt so much pressure, regarding so many tangible projects that are going on; Then, it’s not about [them] and it's me, being under so much stress.
So try to be calm, and make sure you know people are different, and people are having their life, and people would not intend to attack. I mean, sometimes, but most likely not. I just need to know that the people are different, and I try not to expect people to do some things. I always keep that in mind, doing this kind of job, because it's all about a people’s job. Not only in the creation, but [with the] people involved.
People are different, I need to understand [that]. It's the simple things, but, you know.
I feel like it takes away a [lot] of mental energy understanding that people are working in different ways.
I think you logically understand [it], but not emotionally process it yet, [when] you are in a circumstance.
And the more effortless the show looks it means that there was so much going on behind the scenes.
Yeah. For a show, like publishing a magazine, that's so much work, but [if] people haven’t done it [themselves] they don't know what the process will be. Then they might not appreciate it as much as you do. So I understand that.
5. What would you like to share about any upcoming projects?
I've been working on a Whale Song project coming up in May. I've always been into whales, especially with how they communicate with each other. And now that we can all access the data, well, probably more accurate data, to express how communication is important for us in a human society, especially now. And to use interactive audio visuals; making things more fun for the audience, but at the same time I'd like to provide those important concepts, and make them think about what we can do in our community, or you know, what we can do for even just a friend or family, so that's very important for me.
What drew you to whales in the first place?
I don't know. I always like to read the map, the organic. The world is migrating because of this and this. It’s more [about] how they communicate. It's so much distance that they can communicate [across], and we can even hear some of the sounds, which is kind of interesting.
Also, there’s one whale called 52, now it's on Netflix [in a] documentary [The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52]. That 52-hertz whale cannot talk to other whales because they are using a different hertz [frequency]. This is a lonely whale that exists somewhere in the ocean. But [in] that isolation somehow he migrated. They're assuming that he can not do well, but we don't even know how he would keep on. But then that loneliness is.. we always have that kind of isolation or loneliness within a society. Even though we are surrounded by so many people, especially here, but [we] can always say something.
How are we gonna do it? Set up a 52 hertz [frequency] that wouldn't be connected to any of the censors, so you [would] say something, but no one can hear. It's like, you try to speak up, but no one will listen to you, no one would understand what you were trying to say, even if it’s in the exact same language. And when you try to describe [it] they don't get it. Maybe then you [will be] talking about using the same language or not, right? That is kind of common sense, but we don't really get into those kinds of isolation and loneliness. But I think that we all have it. Those things [are] a metaphor of communication for me. And I feel like humans are just more stupid than those animals ; that's another concept that we might discuss.
I don't know why I picked whales, but maybe it's because I've always liked them…
And you'll bring people together with the whale, which is very cool.
Yes, this is great. I mean, they are social animals and they also like music. They are corresponding, when humans make music, to some of the music in a sense. We're not using the same language, but I think within the music they can communicate in some way. That's another thing that I'm interested in knowing about them. If we were making some music and some creative stuff, they would correspond to it.
In your work you mix a lot of analog and digital. Any mediums that are on your bucket list that you're thinking of using for any upcoming projects?
Yeah, so many. It's always experimenting, and stuff might work well or not.
We're trying to pick all the conductive objects, because we are going to make a big whale. And there are some other parts that we are thinking about too. We were thinking about making cells of a whale, as a real piano. Some of the parts have to be non-conductive, so I'm thinking about using a glue to make some kind of a pattern and then put them together in a way. I like to explore the Claude Code more, to make a visual even better. Also, I've never used it, but I'm thinking about using a heat sensor, so me and other creative technologist friends are talking about using red scanners. We were thinking about having a dancer interact with sensors for the performance. So when the performance gets heated up, they can make some kind of noise, or some kind of reactive visuals that we were thinking about exploring. The physical object [has] some wires and some rules, and some of the stone that could have a little bit more of a divine kind of feeling, like a meditative feeling. These are the combinations that are coming up.
You showed me a very cool video of an exhibition at a hair salon. Any other spaces that are on your bucket list to use as an exhibition space?
Yes. We were thinking about having a show in Japan Village. Have you been to Japan Village?
No
It’s kind of far from here.
We looked up the place
It's a huge building. We were thinking about using this huge space, assigning multiple musicians and dancers and collaborating a sake [brand]. This is the one that is only going to happen in June. Also, we just had a show in Ideal Glass Studios. This is a cute space [where] we just had the show. That was amazing.
We looked at pictures of the show
That looks amazing!
It was a very good [show]. I wish we had more time to prepare…
I guess these are the big ones, but we're constantly having shows and [having] them in smaller venues too.
How did you find your collaborator for Whale Song?
I am going to have a show with Kanami Kusajima, Riho Hagi, Mashiyat Zaman, and Naz Karagöz. I met Kanami through a mutual friend at the Pratt Thesis Exhibition, met Riho at an artist meetup, met Mashi through instagram, and met Naz through a mutual friend from the NYU ITP camp, so it's like a very standard way to meet.
That’s wonderful! Can't wait to see it!
Hopefully it’s gonna be great
Snapshots by Rachel Bard
Keep up with Nanae’s upcoming projects -
https://www.instagram.com/nanae_itoi/
Tickets for Nanae’s upcoming show, Liminal Waves, May 9th, 2026 -
/