In the film Invisible Touch (2024, 20 min), Daisuke Kosugi stages a series of conflict situations in the everyday life of 7-year-old Luka. The character is inspired by the artist’s interest in how neurodiverse individuals often have difficulty to meet the expectations set by normative standards, while the cause of their challenges might not be visible to others. The conflicts unfold in various private and public spaces. We witness repeated escalating situations conveyed physically and emotionally through repetition and rhythm, distance, and proximity. Luka is portrayed by three different actors, inspired by Bertolt Brecht's exploration of illusion-breaking techniques. By having the role played by different actors and repeating the core conflict in different settings, the film challenges the viewer's immersion in a tension between distance and empathy.

The film is presented in an encompassing circular space that provides the experience of inside and outside, entering an intimate and private sphere. Installations where moving images and sculptural objects interact – represented in the exhibition by concrete objects on the floor and a railing in bamboo and copper – are central to the artist's work. The objects are often bodily and tactile; for example, the recurring use of bamboo branches with their undulating and organic forms evokes associations with the elasticity and vulnerability of the human body.

A recurring theme in Kosugi's works is alienation and outsiderhood in various social environments. In a poetic and subdued manner, he conveys the everyday routines and behavioral patterns of individuals as intimate dramas. The works are based on real people, and he often uses his own family members to explore ideas around belonging, trauma, and memory. The conflict between personal freedom and the restrictions imposed by society on the individual is brought into play. In several works, the body is the focal point through which an exploration of the relationship between physical and psychological pain is taking place. Previous examples include the film Meeting Uncle Yuji (2018), which deals with the uncle's lonely, secret life as a musician in Harlem, New York, and his choice never to perform for an audience, or the film A False Weight (2019), based on the father's neurological disease after a life as a bodybuilder in Tokyo. Kosugi sheds light on how our movements and personal freedom are limited by the various regulations and laws of society, and how individual bodies can serve as a starting point for imagining alternative social structures.

Installation views: Tor S. Ulstein/KUNSTDOK

Daisuke Kosugi (b. 1984, Tokyo) lives and works in Farsund, and is educated from the Oslo Art Academy. In addition to film and video works, the artist works with installation, performance, sound and sculpture. He has had solo exhibitions at Jeu de Paume, Paris; CAPC Musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux; WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels; Museo Amparo Puebla, Mexico; and Fotogalleriet, Oslo. Furthermore, he has participated in exhibitions such as the Aichi Triennale 2022, the 11th Gwangju Biennale, and MOMENTUM 11 at Galleri F15, as well as in group exhibitions at Centre Pompidou, Paris; Whitechapel Gallery, London; Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; and Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm.

Invisible Touch is part of Kunstnernes Hus' new initiative focusing on moving images across cinema and exhibition spaces, supported by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB and Fritt Ord.