この水はどこへでも行ける（2011〜2023）
Materials/Technique:
Mounting made of rugs dyed with black paint
Mino Washi dyed by the sea in the Arahama area of Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
Mino Washi dyed with mud from the mudslide-stricken area in Hita City, Oita Prefecture and painting materials found at the site
Size: Duplex, pair
Dyed on paper the scene I saw at a cultural property rescue site.
At the end of 2010, when I was still in university, I suffered a physical and mental breakdown as a result of a sexual assault I suffered while job hunting, and since then I have barely survived, suffering from recurring depressions and feelings of hopelessness.
At that time, there were few remedies for victims of sexual violence and mental health problems, and since it was a time of strong prejudice, I was unable to gain the understanding of my family and suffered from the curious eyes of those around me. I also wanted to stay indoors and take a rest, but at that time there was still a tendency not to tolerate such behavior as "pampering.
When I witnessed the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, I wondered what to do with my life, which happened to "survive," and chose to volunteer as a cultural asset rescue worker instead of expressing myself as an artist, which I had been doing.
At the time, I was mainly engaged in cleaning photographs at the site, and as I worked, I had the opportunity to hear stories from people who lived in the area about the time of the earthquake and tsunami.
The situation in the disaster area is beyond description, and it showed me clearly how many lives and livelihoods had been taken away in an instant.
When I was praying at the cenotaph on the beach, I heard from a police officer on patrol tell me about the death of his supervisor, who had protected him during the disaster, right in front of him.
The policeman told us that he had chosen to live with his wounds and inspire others through local culture and art.
The gray sea in front of us was quiet and calm.
I couldn't unfold the art supplies I had brought with me in the shallow hope of sketching.
All I could do was to sink the paper I had brought in the surf and try not to forget the view.
When dealing with social issues through expression, asymmetries may arise between the affected areas and the rest of the world, between the victims and the authors, and this may lead to a structure of exploitation.
At that time, many artists and creators were engaged in such activities under the guise of giving encouragement to the Tohoku region, but I sometimes witnessed works that were not sincere and hurt the local people.
Also, the fact that we turned our attention to the practice of preserving materials rather than to expression was sometimes criticized at the time as artists abandoning expression.
It is true that I felt deception in creating without confronting the actual pain and damage, and I cannot deny that I ran away from art.
How to deal with pain and social issues is still an issue for me, but the attitude I adopted at the time was to look at art outside of art, and to confront society itself.
I still have not come up with the right answer.
However, it was around this time that I began to be clearly aware of the need to support and connect culture, such as through cultural property conservation and restoration and curatorial work, and I continue to participate as much as possible when there are openings for cultural property rescue.