Overview

melting water is an ongoing artistic research project by Berlin-based performing artists Nagao Akemi and Keisuke Sugawara, exploring involuntary relaxation — moments in which the body softens and releases tension beyond conscious control.

Developed through field research, somatic practice, and choreographic inquiry, the project investigates how warmth, water, and surrounding environments influence bodily perception and autonomous responses.

Drawing inspiration from Japanese bathing culture and the traditional practice of Tōji, the research examines relaxation not as an individual technique, but as a relational experience shaped by the body, other people, and the environment.

Rather than focusing on a single outcome, melting water unfolds as a growing archive of observations, materials, and embodied experiences.