CIRCLE OF DAYZ vol.2 Tetsu Nishiyama Part2

2020.12.04 #INTERVIEW

CIRCLE OF DAYZ vol. 2 Interview with Tetsu Nishiyama, Part 1 In "CIRCLE OF DAYZ," we take an in-depth look at those who are closely associated with DAYZ as well as other fascinating people. For the second issue, we spoke with NISHIYAMA Tetsu, brand director of FORTY PERCENT AGAINST RIGHTS 〈FPAR〉, 〈WTAPS〉, and 〈DESCENDANT〉. “The truth is out there" is the first exhibition from FPAR. The second part is about Shibuya, the city that fuels his creativity.

The urban feel of Shibuya, allowing for change.

——The world has changed dramatically in the wake of the corona crisis. How do you find balance among all the new rules and precautions?

Personally, I think I'm a flexible person who is open to change. I've been doing a lot of what we call scrap-and-build, or maybe break-and-build would be more accurate. In order to reevaluate and renew my values, I think it's important to breakdown the existing ones. This is how we evolve.

——From your standpoint as a native of Shibuya, how do you feel about all the changes?

It's normal for things to change, even the scenery that’s been around you since you were a kid; everything disappears. It's natural to feel a little emotional, but I am kid of used to that, I guess it's easy to adapt, so I don't really like it or dislike it. There was a time when Shibuya didn’t even exist, and that kind of rapid change is what this city is like. A big city is crowded with people coming from outside. But if I wasn't born in Tokyo and didn't live in Shibuya, I wouldn't be the person I am today.

——〈FPAR〉 normally has the feeling of being indefinable. This time in history, as a piece of art, it is necessarily definable, but not a concrete explanation.

Yeah, yeah. This time, I exhibited my work in a public gallery, so I wanted to show it to people who were unfamiliar with the brand to see what was inside.

Motivation for self-expression = my life’s story.

——Today we live in a world where manufacturing/production is almost easy.

With the democratization of self-expression thanks to social networking sites, we live in an age where everyone can broadcast themselves with a certain freedom. It’s common these days for various people to seamlessly send high-quality information at high speed, with a wide variety of personal values. That's why I think narrative is so important for expression.

——That responsibility is linked to your story and background.

This time, we expressed ourselves in the form of an exhibition. But without the narrative I mentioned earlier, you wouldn’t be able to tell the story of the exhibition because you wouldn’t even know where to begin.I think there is a cause and an effect. "Story" is not just a "story", but a necessary motivation to create something. In short, I feel this way because I’ve gone through real heartache. That in itself can be a motivation. It's those emotional moments: a child being born, making a new family, someone passing away. All kinds of influences are at your core. I believe that true expression is only complete when there is a narrative that is motivated by this sort of core and leads to a conclusion.The 〈FPAR〉 brand is a story that began in the 90s when I was still an impressionable teenager. 〈FPAR〉 contains the subtext of the subculture of such a unique era. This subtext is what 〈FPAR〉 is about, and the exhibition is about expressing and facing the major challenges of our time. In other words, the narrative of the exhibition is the story of 〈FPAR〉: a story that began in the 90's with a truth that stares at you from the heart of the exhibition.

Interview ： Yu Yamaki
Text & Edit : Shu Nissen
Photo : Kenta Karima