inemuri 居眠りdormir présent·e

Marion Paquette

The book inemuri 居眠り dormir présent.e (sleeping while present) is the result of research I conducted as part of a CALQ residency at the Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) in the summer of 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. The project explores the ethical, sociological and economic dimensions of inemuri, the Japanese practice of sleeping in public places in response to widespread overwork. Both functional and fictional, a portable resting cell is imagined to delimit a personal space for sleepers, right in public places. Photographs taken in collaboration with Japanese participants document the various activations in specific contexts.

Created in collaboration with graphic designer Étienne Murphy, this artist book presents two photographic series shot in Tokyo (2917, 2023). An essay by Japanese author and artist Mieko Matsumoto offers insight into her relationship with the phenomenon of inemuri and her experience using the resting cell in the Tokyo subway.