Over the past few years, I have been fascinated by the allure of mud. This fascination began during my visits to Mizorogaike (Bodhisattva Pond), a rare pond in Kamigamo, north of the Kyoto basin. This unique body of water, supported by oligotrophic water, accumulates the remains of dead plants and animals, supporting a rich ecosystem with a variety of plants, including mosses.
Walking along the banks of the pond, you can see countless fallen leaves slowly decaying and piling up in the clear water. On top of this, fine dust silently accumulates, sometimes stirred up by fish and deer, but then quietly returning to the clear water. On sunny days, a rainbow-coloured biofilm floats in the mud between water and land. This is the result of the action of microscopic iron bacteria, a creature that never ceases to fascinate me.
Later I decided to try living with the iron bacteria. After a week the biofilm disappeared, and when I put dried leaves back in, the little insects started pecking at them again, and within a few hours the glittering film began to shine again. This phenomenon reminds us that many small, invisible creatures are constantly moving in the apparently still, motionless mud. This rainbow membrane is similar to the membrane between our consciousness and unconsciousness, like a call from the physis (the world of cycles of life and death), such as decomposition, emergence and disappearance.
The same ceaseless work goes on in the unconscious world deep within the mind, even if we don't realise it. Distant memories and repressed feelings that do not normally come to the surface of our consciousness can come to the surface and shake us, triggered by conversations with others or by certain events. This event can sometimes be an act of reopening old wounds. However, recognising that they are there, without judging whether they are good or bad, can be a force that encourages a new cycle in the world of our mind.
In this exhibition, I invite you to immerse yourself in the usually hidden and invisible workings and interactions, to delve into the world of the mind and consciousness, which, like mud, is often overlooked in contemporary society. I encourage you to lift the lid and explore the living nature beyond the chaos of mud.
