Eri Saito

Slightest Pretense​

2025, video installation, 14min​

​​

This work reflects on the illusions produced by the brain, triggered by the phenomenon known as "scintillating scotoma," a precursor to migraines. Scintillating scotoma is a neurological event where geometric light waves appear in the visual field, temporarily causing partial loss of vision. Typically, this phenomenon disappears before the headache begins, but the experience of seeing something that should not be visible often accompanies feelings of anxiety and fear. Despite this, it is not considered a medical condition, and many people experience it regularly. I myself suffer from chronic headaches and experience scintillating scotoma a few times each year.

In the early stages of my research, I turned to Oliver Sacks' book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, where he discusses the visionary experiences recorded by the German nun Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179). Her drawings were noted to closely resemble the visual aura of a migraine, specifically the scintillating scotoma. However, later, while reading an article by Makoto Iwata published in the Journal of the Japanese Headache Society, I came across a suggestion that Hildegard's experiences might have been caused by epileptic seizures, rather than migraines. As I continued my research, I came upon a reference to Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892–1927), in which his final work Cogwheels describes visionary experiences similar to scintillating scotoma, where an image of "cogs" appears in the visual field as a precursor to his headaches.

This piece was created as part of my residency at Fujisawa City Art Space under the "Artists in FAS 2024" program, where I was conducting research on migraines. By chance, I discovered that Akutagawa had spent his final years in Kugenuma, Fujisawa, for treatment, and that several of his works, including The Mirage, were written there. The unexpected connection between the physical phenomenon of migraines, Akutagawa's literature, and the place I was working in became the guiding influence for the direction of the work.

During the production, I began with research from books and then conducted fieldwork around Kugenuma and Enoshima. Filming took place in Fujisawa City. The film follows a male character reminiscent of Akutagawa in modern times, capturing moments of subtle discomfort in daily life and the brief moments when the boundary between reality and illusion wavers.

In the exhibition, I inserted an intrusive effect, like a brief flicker, on the left side of the main screen. This effect, which evokes the appearance of a scintillating scotoma at the edge of the visual field, slightly disrupts the viewer's perception and creates an experience of the blurred boundary between the brain's illusions and reality. Like the phenomenon itself, it exists briefly before disappearing, but in that fleeting moment, the viewer may catch a glimpse of the fracture in reality.

​

Cast: Hisao Kurozumi
Production Support: Shun Ikezoe
Film Digitization: Shunsuke Minami
Grant: Masatoshi Kumagai Cultural Foundation​​

​Production Support: Fujisawa City Art Space