top of page

Walking through the streets of Mishima, I was intrigued by a literary monument. There is a shiny black stone by a clear river, carved with famous literary texts that should be preserved for future generations. I suddenly wondered what was the difference between the words inscribed here, which will not change shape for several hundred years, and the many words in the library, the diary that I write in without showing it to anyone, or the notes I take while on the phone.

 

The production began by cutting up and rearranging sentences from the diaries of Mishima residents, books they selected (e.g., books on flute exercises, folktales, dialects, and city specialties), and city guidebooks. At first glance, the grammar seemed broken and incoherent, but there was no doubt that the words were about Mishima. From these words, he expanded his ideas, created paintings, and rewoven the created words into a book.

三島の街を歩いていると、文学碑があることに興味を持った。澄んだ川のそばには黒く輝く石があり、後世に残すべき文学の名文が彫られている。ふと、ここに刻まれている数百年は形が変わらないであろう言葉と、図書館にある数多ある言葉や、誰にも見せずに書いている日記、電話をしながらとるメモの言葉は何が違うのか気になった。

制作は、三島に住む方々の日記や、彼らが選んだ書籍(例えばフルートの演習方法や、昔話、方言や市の特産品に関する書籍)、市のガイドブックなどの文章を切り刻み、文章を並び替えることから始まった。一見文法が破滅し支離滅裂に見えるが、間違いなく三島に関する言葉だった。その言葉から発想を広げ絵画を制作し、作った言葉を本に編み直した。

bottom of page