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    Michael Tulio Bühler

    Portrait series with exchange students

    Credit: Alina Birjuk

    Published on23.03.2025

    • Fine Arts
    • Campus

    Michael, currently enrolled in the Bachelor programme Fine Arts at ZHdK, spent a semester abroad at Tokyo’s University of the Arts to expose himself to something completely new, far from home and his comfort zone. At the Ueno Campus of Geidai University, he found an oasis of calm and serenity in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city and got to know himself in a new way.

    How did you choose the city/university for your exchange semester?

    I wanted to get away. Far away. Anywhere where I didn’t know anything or anyone, where I had no idea how anything worked. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. Away from the ordinary. To a place that challenges me on many levels. A place that would shake me up.

    What has been the biggest surprise in the new city/at the new university?

    The campus of Geidai University in the Ueno district is a small oasis in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. I was surprised by the peace and serenity of the place. That the campus is actually located in a lush garden, with old camphor trees and fragrant herbs growing on every corner and small flocks of parakeets cawing overhead as they fly around. (And I hadn't expected to get so many mosquito bites either...)

    What has been the biggest challenge of your semester abroad?

    My homesickness. I missed people who are close to me, people with whom I have a long-standing and deep relationship. It was unusual to only have people around me who I had just met.

    What are your experiences and did it have an impact on your artistic practice?

    I discovered that when I’m in a new and unfamiliar place, I can work more freely. I could try several things out without being afraid of making mistakes or failing. After all, I was not where I usually work. Nobody knows me. I wasn’t really trying to impress anyone either, I just wanted to do things that interested and pleased me.

    With which experiences and results did you come back?

    That I got to know myself in a new way. That I took this time out for myself to try new things, just to try and see what came of it. Despite fear and not knowing what to expect, I dared to go, to learn.

    What are your current projects?

    I am currently developing my diploma thesis: I am fascinated by mosses and lichens because of their delicacy, shape and ability to grow in seemingly impossible places. During my exchange semester, I did a research trip through Japan, where I visited, among other places, the Saihoji Temple, also known as the Moss Temple, in Kyoto.

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    Interested in going on an exchange?

    → Find out more about mobility for incoming students

    → Find out more about mobility for outgoing students

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