TOKYO
2024
[ PHANTOM MUSE ] IS A THEATRICAL COSTUME DESIGNED TO BRING TO LIFE A GHOST STORY. INSPIRED BY A TALE OF A MAN NAMED YUMA, WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN A GHOST IN THE BASEMENT OF MY SCHOOL’S LIBRARY IN TOKYO, THE COSTUME IS A METAPHORICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE GHOST HE DESCRIBED. YUMA, WHO EXPERIENCES SYNESTHESIA—PERCEIVING COLORS AROUND PEOPLE AS AURAS—DESCRIBED THE GHOST AS A GIRL WITH LONG HAIR AND A FLOWING DRESS. THE COSTUME CAPTURES THESE DETAILS, USING METALLIC FABRICS TO RECREATE HER SHIMMERING AURA, CHAINS TO OBSCURE HER FACE, AND AN ELONGATED DRESS THAT APPEARS TO FLOAT ABOVE THE GROUND.