Scenery seen from the farm stones

This is a view from the viewpoint of a roadside pebble. That pebble will also be attached to the work. I'm drawing on black sandpaper with those pebbles, just like drawing with chalk on a blackboard. The pebbles on the side of the road literally turn my body into powder, painting the world around me in my own colors and from my point of view. In Japanese, “turning meat into powder” means “to work hard.” That point of view and that moment of the surroundings are unique. “Roadside stones” are synonymous with “worthless things.” But that value standard is only for use. We are part of nature, but we tend to forget that.

The location is in the suburbs of Tokyo. There was a farm next to the station, and it was protected by nets and fences. You can see the building in the back. I thought it was a landscape not found in rural farms. Even familiar places look different when viewed from a different perspective. Even in the human world, there are diverse perspectives, diverse situations, and diverse personalities, and diverse judgments are born. My surroundings and myself are constantly changing, and they are changing day by day.

　It was created for the Chuo Line Art Festival held in Tokyo in the fall of 2024 and exhibited at the “Space Sharing Program.” The transparent acrylic cover has been removed from the exhibition.

The transparent acrylic cover is about 7 cm deep. If you remove the wood screws with a screwdriver, the cover will come off. The stones used for drawing are glued together. The title of the work and the author's signature are handwritten on the left and right sides of the stone. The frame is an item that has been used in other exhibitions. It's not brand new. There are small scratches, etc. Please be aware in advance.

　I think we should think about society, including people in hospital beds who can't communicate with each other and fetuses in the mother's womb. People in hospital beds have a tremendous impact on families, and fetuses grow while being greatly influenced by their surroundings. If you think of society as a place where only a small number of people called members of society live, many social problems cannot be solved.

　Let's say there are people who are withdrawn and think they are being held back by society or are isolated from society. Even if you think that you have nothing to do with society, there is a current society, including the influence that person has on their surroundings and their thoughts, and the future will be created from there. Japan's aging population has progressed, and non-regular employment has increased. In Japan today, I think there are many people who think they are not at the center of society but in the periphery.

　When thinking about things, if you put people at the center, you will be thinking mainly about value judgments made by people. If you stay in the human world for a long time, there are many cases where your worth is not recognized. We are part of nature. In the face of the fury of nature, we are only small and ephemeral beings. How small are the values of the human world in the natural world. Being aware that you are part of nature and breaking away from a human-centered way of thinking may lead to a path of living with nature without being swayed by the values of the human world.

Take a picture without looking into the viewfinder from the point where the pebbles have fallen. Based on that photo, I will draw with that pebble on black sandpaper. It's like drawing with chalk on a blackboard. I draw using pebbles scraped and white lines attached to black sandpaper. The thin black lines are drawn by removing stone powder with a kneaded eraser. Fixtures are used for fixing. The impression of the picture changes depending on the color and hardness of the stone. If the stone is hard, the depiction is detailed and sharp, and if the stone is soft, the depiction is rough and gentle. The paintings also show the individuality of the stone.

about 10 days

Pictured location: Musashi-Koganei station area/Production location: atelier

No matter how trivial a person sees it, there is a unique point of view. It is one and only.

About donations: A portion of sales from this work will be donated by the author to charitable causes.

About reselling: If you resell this work, please donate 10% of the profits to charity.