Naho Matsuda is a German-Japanese freelance artist who lives in Munich and London. In her work, she explores types of language and forms of communication and examines everyday power structures. In her current projects, she investigates how men apologize, when dogs can become weapons, and how we use our hands to imitate animals.
Naho works in a site-specific and research-oriented manner, often involving local people. Inspired by her findings, she invents pseudo-solutions, escape routes, and side stories. These are realized in a variety of media and materials: from drawings, prints, and websites to video works, installations, and performances.
“During my stay, I studied the history of a Neolithic jade axe from Schöppingen. The jade axe is one of the oldest archaeological objects ever found in Schöppingen. It has a fascinating history of how it came to Schöppingen 6,000 years ago, and there are several mysterious circumstances and secrets surrounding the axe. My grandfather was able to present it at an exhibition in the Schöppingen Sparkasse in the 1970s, and he told me a lot about this unusual axe in the years before his death. When I came to Schöppingen, I quickly got to know some people who could tell me more about the axe and its current whereabouts. I have recorded the various stories about the axe and am currently working on a new piece that deals with the axe and its stories and secrets.“