Aesthetics of the Periphery | Opening on October 18 – 30, 2022 | Tsukuba Museum of Art | curated by Takashi Ikezawa.

After a few tedious days of completion, the exhibition was finally opened with a wonderful performance. My two main works were produced in Japan and Austria and premiered here at the Tsukuba Museum of Art, organized by the Tsukuba Art Center. Beside these two sculptures three black and white photographies of my former residencies in Estonia and Finland were shown beside four digital prints from Japan.

うかれ燕 – Ukare Tsubame

Ukare tsubame is an old song about a swiftlet, I heard when searching for old washi paper at a flea market. Since then the lyrics are stuck in my head. The figure therefor is made of the buddhistic lotus sutras from Meiji era, I found at the day. The wooden grid above is an old door from my house in Onishi/ Gunma and over 90 years old. 
Floating with no wings the body is bound to the sky by long cords made from an old haiku book. Circling around the longing of beloved humans and nature, those haikus were written originally by a group of five people. Learning about these beautiful lyrics I wanted to reuse them for a poetic journey through time. 

蚤の市で古い和紙を探しているときに耳にした古い歌「うかれつばめ」。それ以来、歌詞が頭にこびりついています。フィギュアは、当日見つけた明治時代の蓮の経典で作りました。上の格子状の木は、群馬県尾西市の自宅にあった90年以上前の古いドアです。
翼を失った体は、古い俳句集から作られた長い紐で空に縛られている。この俳句は、もともと5人のグループによって書かれたもので、愛する人と自然への憧れをテーマにしています。この美しい歌詞を知り、時を超えた詩的な旅に再利用したいと思いました。

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タイムリープ – Taimurīpu :: (Timeleap)

The shelf of body consists of debt lists from an old general store in Gunma prefecture, where I have my studio. The papers are from Meiji era and tell about the items people have bought in the store and would pay by the end of the month. The inside of the body I filled with shredded papers from a modern banking institute. 
Hanging from the body are multiple worn out scarfs which are made from business papers from the same general store dating over 130 years back. The artwork is going through time and keeps track of all these peoples business. Although these people don’t live anymore, their monetary records draw a trace through time.

本体の棚は、私のアトリエがある群馬県の古い雑貨屋さんの借金帳で構成されています。明治時代のもので、その店で買った品物を月末までに支払うという内容です。ボディーの内側には、現代の銀行で使われたシュレッダー付きの紙を入れました。
身体からぶら下がっているのは、130年以上前に同じ雑貨屋で買ったビジネスペーパーから作られた、使い古された複数のスカーフです。この作品は、時を越えて、この人たちの商売の記録を残しているのです。 この人たちはもう生きてはいないが、その金銭的な記録は時代を超えて痕跡を残している。

Water is essential for the survival of all living things. Water affects health, economy, environment. Good water quality and potable water is something most of us take for granted. However, access to potable water is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Securing clean water and nature for future generations is not a given.

Mit: Piela Auvinen, Anita Gratzer, Sami Funke, Henrik Härkönen, Marja de Jong, Kaisa Huotari, Andreas Kopp, Mikko Kallio, Laura Kärki, Juha Lahtinen, Vili Nissinen, Anna Pekkala, Jan Pohribný, Yuichiro Sato, Anna Siiriäinen, Julio Tubal ja Kimmo Ylönen.