A Monster with its Mouth Agape

A Monster with its Mouth Agape
2024 | 10’ | 4K DCP, 5.1 Sound
original format: 16mm
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Watch an excerpt from the extended live version

Film extract

A Monster with its Mouth Agape is an experimental film, expanded live performance, and installation inspired by the profound insights of Yoshito Ohno. Its multiple forms interpret the metamorphic states of Butoh, radiating from monochromatic intensity to multihued abstraction, with a soundtrack that reverberates the haunting soundscapes from the chaotic post-war climate of Japan. The works feature a rare audio recording of Ohno–a sonic choreography, with each movement reimagined through the moving image. As Yoshito’s influence ripples into the present, these subversive forms of dance embody a sense of timelessness and transformation, deeply rooted in Japanese archaic tradition, folklore, and mythology.

A film by Steven McInerney
Visual design in collaboration with Vincent Rang
Words spoken by Yoshito Ohno
Sound by Howlround & Merkaba Macabre
A Psyché Tropes Release
Commissioned by Rebellious Bodies, International Butoh Dance Festival
Supported by Dance Archive Network, Canta Co. Ltd, and Arts Council England.

Exhibitions

International Film Festival Rotterdam (Official Selection) The Netherlands, January 30, 2025

Beijing International Short Film Festival, Siphon: Experimental Film Container - Beijing, China, November 24, 2024

Family Film Project #13 (Video Installation, Porto, Portugal) October 15-19th, 2024

Rebellious Bodies, International Butoh Dance Festival (Expanded live performance) November 2, 2023

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