AN DIE FREUDE is an exhibition project by Japanese photographer Mariko Tagashira, created in collaboration with the White Hands Chorus Nippon and presented at Westlicht in Vienna.
Most of us are familiar with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and its famous final movement, “An die Freude”(Ode to Joy), first performed around 200 years ago. The poem itself was written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 and later adapted by Beethoven—eventually becoming the anthem of the European Union.
The exhibition takes this powerful cultural legacy as its starting point and introduces the extraordinary work of the White Hands Chorus Nippon. This unique and inclusive children’s choir performs alongside symphonic orchestras, using white gloves to express music through gesture and movement. Children with and without physical disabilities sing together; deaf members perform in sign language, supported by expressive facial gestures—transforming sound into visible emotion.
Mariko Tagashira has accompanied the choir for several years and developed a distinctive photographic approach to capture their performances. Using long-exposure techniques and luminous gloves, she translates the children’s movements into delicate traces of light—visual interpretations of Schiller’s verses and Beethoven’s music.
At WestLicht, Tagashira’s photographs are presented alongside sound installations and tactile images, creating a multi-sensory exhibition space. The result is an immersive experience that highlights the choir’s work as a powerful example of lived inclusion—where music, movement, light, and emotion come together beyond the limits of sound.