shipyard works 1990

This series of works is made from pieces of a fishing boat which was left discarded in a fishing village facing the Inland Sea. The vessels might have carried people and cargo to foreign countries and distant lands. As a means of passage from the isolated land in the water to an outside world, they are suitable for the theme of this exhibition.

From the hotel cafe one can see a sculpture made from a bow, and its circular aperture gives a distant view of some of the islands and waters of the Inland Sea. Thus by the technique of "shakkei," a traditional Japanese garden design strategy, it incorporates its environment as an integral part.

On the beach a boat`s stern stands on a square concrete pedestal. Pierced with numerous pores, it reveals the mountains of Shikoku behind. This too is a good example of "shakkei" or calculateduse of surrounding scenery, and the effect is extended by the abundant, attractive nature and its location.

Also, near the shore is an installation of three sculptures which, made from prows, are embedded in sand, reminiscent of akind of Land Art.

Each of the sculptures, painted in a glittering metallic silver, assumes a machinelike artificiality which manifests its substance distinct from the surrounding nature. Yet, far from being incongruous with nature, each work produces a singular harmony from its effective use of the surrounding scenery and strikes the viewer with its pleasant freshness.

Inside the Gallery Annex one comes upon seven reliefs made from the partitions of a fishing boat. These works, strangely trimmed "shaped canvasses" as it were, with white paint scattered on fiberglass like an abstract painting, present a kind of minimal beauty.

(Text from the Catalogue Open Air`94 "Out of Bounds" Contemporary Art in the Seascape)

Book details:

48 pages

Available as Hardcover or Softcover book.

Process notebook for an exhibition of new works held at Terada Warehouse Shinagawa, September and October 1990. Includes idea sketches, snaphot photos and sketches of the working environment.

Year: 1990

Price: please inquire