Archive for Human Activities (AHA!), launched in 2005, is a group that engages with the personal memories of ordinary people. We have been collecting photos, letters, 8mm films, and other forms of documentation that slumber in private homes, sharing them with many people, and considering the value and applications of these materials.

As one of the Aichi Triennale 2022 learning programs, AHA! conducted a research project called “Drive Recorder.” This project focused on automobiles, a major industry in Aichi Prefecture, and in particular on the voluntary surrender of driver’s licenses, which has been the focus of much attention in recent years.

In addition to the usual AHA! members, four supporting members were recruited from the public to conduct interviews with people who were unsure about whether to voluntarily give up their licenses, or who had already done so. The final exhibit was based on the massive trove of “driving records” covering 900,000 km made by one of them, Mr. T (age 80 ), while traveling around Japan since obtaining his driver's license, and examined the relationship between individuals, automobiles, and “driving histories.”

The process of newly tracing personal archives is very important to our core activities. By carefully reviewing home videos, photos and letters with many people, we have been able to discover value concealed within them. In the “Drive Recorder” project, we made many fresh discoveries by carrying out this work with supporting members.

For processes that tend to become clandestine and routine when only the usual members are involved, when new members were brought in, we got a fresh sense of what we were doing and move in directions different from those we are used to. It was interesting to see the range of what was visible broaden as our perspectives on the materials widened. There was a sense of tension in exposing our day-to-day work to others, but I think this was what gave new drive (i.e. vigor) to our efforts.

Here is a brief recap of the process leading up to the exhibit. Toyota Motor Corporation’s first mass-produced vehicle, the Model AA, was inspired by an American model, the Chrysler De Soto Airflow. In other words, the industry for which Japan, including Aichi is known today had its origins in “tracing” the US industry. After establishing the theme of automobiles, we first shared this fact with the assembled members. On the other hand, while our theme was automobiles, when it comes to their manufacture we are naturally no match for the experience and knowledge of automakers. So, as we thought about what would be appropriate to research, we gradually narrowed our focus to “driver’s experience and sensations”, not to “maker’s skill and knowledge.”

We zeroed in further on the topic of “voluntary surrender of driver’s licenses,” and once the basic idea had been formulated, we began by interviewing four people who had been involved with the process of giving up their licenses. We chose Mr. T as our final research subject, because we felt that the 70 driving records he created could connect to the experiences of other drivers as well. Next, all the participants read through the driving records and scanned each page, and in parallel to this, Mr. T recalled details of his driving, such as differences between gravel in Kyushu and in Tohoku. In preparation for the exhibit, we also physically traced maps. In this way, we shared various research processes, such as listening to people, reading materials, scanning, and tracing maps, with the participants.

At the same time, we thought we needed to be careful when giving the exhibit concrete form. We did not want to make it overly focused on our “internal drive” to trace the records, which would make it difficult to understand, nor, on the other hand, to orient it excessively toward external audiences and neglect our internal motives.

The approach we settled on was one of archiving and presenting the records of our research. In other words, we wanted what the members saw during their research, and what the audience would see at the venue, to coincide to the greatest possible extent. By doing so, we felt that the audience would be able to relive our experience of “tracing Mr. T’s driving record” at the venue, using the materials themselves, and the traces left on them by the members’ research, as an interface.

Even when engaging with the same material, different viewers discover different things. In this sense, it was at the talk events to review our activities that the supporting members showed their greatest strength. By listening to the members speak, the audience were able to say “so, that’s what those materials are about!”––and more directly grasp the nature of the archival materials.

So, both through exhibits and through events, this project responded to the somewhat goofy nature of the theme by focusing on the “how to” aspect of “how to present the theme of automobiles.” At the same time, the simplicity of “automobiles” as a starting point was a plus––it was a theme that all participants could relate to. In particular, we were glad that we chose the theme of "automobiles" because of the location of Aichi.

The supporting members ranged widely in age, from their 20s to their 50s, and it was good to see that some were automotive enthusiasts with enough experience which further fueled Mr.T’s passion for automotive to compete with, while others had youthful ideas, which brought out his grandfatherly side.
Kondo Reiko, the overall coordinator of learning programs, said “We have been conducting learning programs at the Aichi Triennale for a long time, but in the past the creators and viewers were separated, although there was a space for learning and volunteer involvement between the two. This time, however, we are taking on the challenge of having participants take part in the creative process.” This was certainly challenging and demanding, but it was for this reason that we placed importance on the balance between how to get the participants involved and how to present the results as an exhibit.

Looking toward the future, as the interview with Mr. T was not completed until after Aichi Triennale 2022, we were not able to use all of the information in the exhibit, and we would like to consider developing this into a more extensive project. I believe it is highly valuable and important for an international art festival to carry out learning projects on an ongoing basis. In that sense as well, I hope to see them continue in the future.

(Text by Sugihara Tamaki)