Bukimi No Tani (不気味の谷): The Uncanny Valley – The Affectivity of the Humanoid explores the complex relationship between humans and machines through sound, performance, and visual practices. The publication centers on the fourth and final Invocation for the 36th Bienal de São Paulo held in Tokyo, Japan, which draws inspiration from the concept of the “uncanny valley” proposed by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, to reflect on the ambiguities of the human in the face of technology and the issues that emerge at the intersection of art, artificial intelligence, and corporeality. Through its various contributions, the book considers issues such as the impact of artificial intelligence on artistic creation, the performativity of machines, and the affective dimension of the relationship between humans and automated devices.

Contributions by Natsumi Ayoagi, Manauara Clandestina, Hiroshi Egaitsu, Keyna Eleison, Deivison Faustino, Anna Goetz, Nina da Hora, Takashi Ikegami, Azako Iwama, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Andrew Maerkle, Marylya, Multiple Spirits (Mai Endo and Mika Maruyama), You Nakai, Yūkie Nagae, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Tavia Nyong’o, Sara Ouhaddou, Alya Sebti, Sakisa Kujira, T-Michael, Gê Viana, Shiori Watanabe, and Gōzō Yoshimasu.

This title is the fourth volume in a series of a series of four educational publications released on the occasion of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice, curated by Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, with co-curators Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz, Thiago de Paula Souza, co-curator at large Keyna Eleison, and strategy and communications advisor Henriette Gallus. Taking its cue from Afro-Brazilian poet Conceição Evaristo’s enigmatic poem, Da calma e do silênco [Of calm and silence], the Bienal aims to rethink humanity as a verb, a living practice, in a world that requires reimagining relationships, asymetries, and listening as the basis for coexistence.

Each title centers on one of the four Invocations—gatherings including poetry, music, performance, talks, lectures, and workshops—organized by the curatorial team in four cities (Marrakesh; Les Abymes, Guadeloupe; Zanzibar; and Tokyo) in the lead-up to the biennial exhibition. Conceived as reflective and interdisciplinary extensions of the exhibition, these publications assemble texts by researchers, artists, and critics to foster dialogues between artistic practices and contemporary critical thought, with a strong educational focus.

Educational Publication Vol. 1: Souffles: On Deep Listening and Active Reception
Educational Publication Vol. 2: Bigidi mè pa tonbé: Totter but Never Fall
Educational Publication Vol. 3: Mawali—Taqsim: Improvisation as a Space and Technology of Humanity
Educational Publication Vol. 4: Bukimi No Tani (不気味の谷): The Uncanny Valley – The Affectivity of the Humanoid

Edited by the Conceptual team and Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
Foreword by the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
Editorial coordination, layout, and graphic production: Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
Designer: Studio Yukiko
Co-published with the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo