Hibi 日々
Hibi 日々 (day-to-day), 2025-ongoing
participatory project
Developed during my residency at ARCUS Project in Moriya City, Japan, Hibi 日々 is part of an ongoing exploration of more-than-human relationships. At Manabi no Sato, a community education and cultural facility where the ARCUS Project is located, a lone female kojukei (Chinese bamboo partridge) lives quietly in a small outdoor enclosure, approximately eight feet across. She never leaves this space. Years ago, two birds lived here and were named Yuppie and Mappie through a public naming campaign. The kojukei, though not native to Japan, is designated Moriya’s official city bird. It is also the inspiration for the city mascot, Kojumaru, a dapper and cheerful bird character. On manhole covers throughout the city, the bird is depicted as part of a symbolic family. Kojukei are typically found in pairs and are known to form long-term bonds during the breeding season. In contrast, this bird lives alone.
In this participatory work, I created a postcard inviting members of the public to give the bird a nickname. I call her Hibi (日々), meaning “day-to-day,” as a gesture toward her ongoing existence. While she is cared for by the on-site staff, her solitude draws attention to the distance between representations of nature and lived realities. The work reflects on how care, attention, and symbolic representation shape our relationships with other species. It also considers the dissonance between civic identity and the lived realities of the animals humans honour. Thank you to ARCUS Project Program Co-Directors, Makiko Onda and Yumiko Fujimoto for assistance with translation. More documentation soon.
