Private Project

My Tooth Box

This video was made for the exhibition "Tooth Fairy Museum", which was held as a result of my artist in residence program at A4 Museum in Chengdu, China in 2019.
I visited some kindergartens and elementary schools in Chengdu, and asked children how to treat their baby teeth after they were lost. In most Asian countries, there is a tradition of throwing baby tooth (upper teeth to be thrown straight under the eaves and lower teeth straight up into the air), with a wish for the incoming teeth will grow in straight and strong like bird's or rat's teeth. But in recent years, because of the influence of westernization, there has been increasing cases where parents have stored baby teeth on the box or created the value as a souvenir or an accessory.
I've found that almost children kept their baby teeth on the box without throwing away. And interestingly they all have different kind of teeth box. This interviews show the current cultural and social changes of China through the unique point of view as "teeth tradition".

  • Mikio Saito
    Director
  • Children from Chengdu
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 1 second
  • Completion Date:
    August 17, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    200 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Japan
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Mikio Saito Solo Exhibition "Tooth Fairy Museum"
    Chengdu
    China
    August 17, 2019
    world premiere
Director Biography - Mikio Saito

Mikio Saito (born in 1978) is a Sapporo-based visual artist. Graduated from University of Waseda, Tokyo, Japan (2000) and Städelschule, Frankfurt, Germany (2007) and holds Master of Fine Arts.

Solo exhibition (selected)
2019 "Tooth Fairy Museum" A4 museum, Chengdu, China
2015 "Wild Back Scratcher" CAI02, Sapporo, Japan
2014 "Spike The Fish Tales" Soulangh Artist Village, Tainan, Taiwan
2013 "Missing Boomerang" CAI02, Sapporo, Japan

Group exhibition (selected)
2019
"Yorushirube 2019" Kanonji city, Kagawa, Japan
"BENIZAKURA PARK ART Annual 2019" Benizakura park, Sapporo, Japan
2018
"Yorushirube 2018" Kanonji city, Kagawa, Japan
"Kawalala-rhapsody" Toyooka, Hyōgo, Japan
"WATER festival for contemporary arts" Dance BG Association, Youth Cultural Centre, Burgas, Bulgaria
“Ja sam (I am)” Galerija Decumanus, Krk, Croatia
“500m museum” Sapporo Odori 500m Underground Walkway Galley, Sapporo, Japan
2017
“Momo-chan” Art Festival 2017: Amusing Exhibition" Kushiro Art Museum, Hokkaido, Japan
"Keelung Ciao" Heping Island Park, Keelung, Taiwan
"Sapporo International Art Festival" Guesthouse x Gallery project, The Stay Sapporo, Sapporo, Japan
"Process Space Art Festival" Russe, Bulgaria
2016
“The Wind Will Carry The Taste” Soulangh Artist Village, Tainan, Taiwan
“Forest of Paraperiod” Maizuru Red Brick, Kyoto, Japan
"Emerging Artists in Hokkaido" Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan
"Unnoticed Art Festival #2" Nijmegen, Netherland
2015
"Perceptual Art" Morerenuma Park, Sapporo, Japan
"Sapporo Winter Vacation" Tenjinyama Art Studio, Sapporo, Japan 2014
"FENIKS FESTIVAL" DeFENIKS, Antwerp, Belgium
"Japan Media Arts Festival in Kushiro" Kushiro Art Museum, Kushiro, Japan

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

My interest in making art is to explore some common/similar ideas in different cultures. Local ideas are often related to a certain part of universal at the same time. I'd like to highlight the contrast of little difference and commonness between different traditions.