Project

Through the Clouds, Murinan, Kyoto
2022

Installation View

Through the Clouds

An art project from the exhibition curated by Isabelle Olivier & Saki Yamada

with artists Foster Mickey and Kojiro Kisaka

Sound design and performance by Masahiko Takeda

Through the Clouds is a personal journey, presenting childhood memories of Aritomo Yamagata. Aritomo, who created the venue of the exhibition Murinan Garden, was the inspiration for a trip I took to follow his footsteps through his beloved hometown of Hagi, Yamaguchi. This journey was a quest to discover his original scenery before he became a politician in the Meiji, Taisho era in Japan, and it forms the heart of this installation.

It employs photographs of a primeval forest of camellia japonica that I took during the trip, as well as quotes from Aritomo’s biography about his memory of the forest and his beloved grandmother.

For the creation of 'Through the Clouds ', I embarked on a journey of exploration. I interviewed my close friends about their original sceneries, capturing their voices and stories. These were then transmitted as a radio frequency in the air and received by a crystal radio in the tearoom, creating a unique auditory experience for the viewers.

Through the Cloudsは今回の展覧会の会場｢無鄰菴｣の作者である明治・大正の政治家山縣有朋の原風景に出逢う為、彼が幼少期を過ごした山口県萩を旅した時の体験と写真を元にした作品である。

徳富猪一郎著｢山縣有朋伝｣を読むと、山縣有朋は５歳の頃から祖母に育てられ、大好きなメジロを追っかけて小さな火山質の山にある椿の原生林で遊ぶことが何より好きだったと記されている。その山を登った先から見えた景色は山縣有朋が激動の時代を経て晩年に作ったこの無鄰菴から見た景色とどう重なるだろうか。

また、この旅を経た私は様々な身近な人々へ｢原風景｣についてインタビューを行い、彼らの記憶の中の原風景と物語が茶室に置かれた鉱石ラジオから聴こえてくる。

【Materials】

Tango chirimen silk fabric dyed with petals of Camellia Japonica

Stones from Yamaguchi Prefecture

Inkjet prints

A crystal radio set with a mineral from Yamaguchi Prefecture

Stones from Shiga Prefecture

【Mineral for crystal radio】

galena / chalco-pyrite
Age : Cretaceous period
Origin : Ofukuyamato mine, Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture
Collected by Hideo Matsuzato
Owned by Akiyoshidai Science Museum,

【Tango chirimen】

Marusen Co., Ltd

【Research support】

Yoshika Matsutomi
Tomomi Takezoe
Masaki Takaya
Sae Pak

【Special thanks to】

Satoshi & Satoko Ikawa
Saki Matsumoto
Masahiro Sakakura
Yuki Nakazawa
Guy Buybo
and
Murinan Garden