By Laura Shirk
“The power of playing by two rules.” Scribbled on a page, this one sentence is the connecting piece for a pair of artists who experienced a life-changing chance encounter.
Rooted in breaking and bridging boundaries, the story of ALEXANDMUSHI art spans different genders, generations, languages, and cultures. The starting point of their creative journey was understanding their own differences. Now, the ongoing goal of their creative process is to understand “the other.”
Artists as Anthropologists
With the thought that we know ourselves only in relation to others, Alex Nichols and Mushi Wooseong James explore recurring themes. These include self vs. other, transparency, and non-verbal communication.
Describing the people around us as mirrors, the duo says that we gain insight via these reflections. Similar to creating art, shedding our layers and looking within requires fearlessness.
Inspired by the phrase “artists as anthropologists,” the pair aims to study humanity. They base their work on a specific hypothesis: despite differences in gender or culture, each person has the capacity to connect to another beyond known forms of language. Consequently, their body of work embraces discomfort, playfulness, and tension.
The Portable Studio Project
Known for their Portable Studio project, ALEXANDMUSHI art takes to the streets. Specifically, they invite people to step into an 8’ x 8’ open box to play together with two common objects.
The rules are simple: no talking and no touching.
From San Francisco to Tokyo, the pair captures non-verbal play in public. As the conversation transforms into an improvised performance, the participants remain exposed. Whether choosing to accept or avoid the awkwardness, the couple states that there is no right or wrong.
ALEXANDMUSHI shares: “People often say that the world outside the box begins to disappear, as they focus and make themselves present to the person standing next to them.”
Still Conversations
Beyond the Portable Studio, the duo explores mimicry and active listening through Still Conversations and Chair Conversations.
In these pieces, Nichols and James cover their faces. This allows viewers to focus on their movement and interaction without visual distraction. By taking away the primary physical component, the two encourage viewers to project themselves into the image.
Ultimately, ALEXANDMUSHI art realizes that the power of connection is finding a common language beyond our differences. They met by chance, and without intention, they might have let that opportunity pass them by. Instead, they chose to explore the unknown together.
