contact Gonzo

Contact Gonzo is a performance collective formed in Osaka in 2006. They have attracted attention both domestically and internationally for their unique performances that involve violent collisions between bodies. In their early days, they were criticized as "not dance" and "not art," but for 20 years they have continued their practice of disrupting existing methodologies and institutional values of performing arts. Rather than constructing movement based on individual will or aesthetic sense, they generate bodily movements based on the dynamics and collisions imposed by "others," and the accidents that result from them. Avoiding excessive ornamentation, they repeatedly perform bodily acts such as punching, throwing, pushing, and falling, and by making physical contact with "others," they explore the fundamental nature of communication and collectivism. Against the backdrop of Osaka, an urban area with a developed sophisticated comedy and popular culture, they have been strongly influenced by minimalist and conceptual art, as well as skateboarding and punk culture, and have continued to be active globally as a unique expressive group where violence and humor, tension and laughter coexist. They advocate a "pastoral sublime theory" that encompasses these ideas and practices, and apply this philosophy to a wide range of forms of expression, including video, photography, installations, and game production. The current members are Keigo Mikajiri, Takuya Matsumi, NAZE, Ayaka Fujita, and Yuya Tsukahara.

Image of the artwork: Photography by YOSHIKAZU INOUE

Contact Gonzo official HP