Classroom
»Classroom« Walking up to the second floor of this former school building, visitors are welcomed by a scenery of various school equipment hanging from the ceiling. Etched on the floor in silver are the words from Nankichi Niimi’s “Buying Mittens”, a popular children’s book. Visitors walk through the installation space while following these words, going back-and-forth between the world of the story and the real-life space of the school. “Buying Mittens” has been included in numerous school curriculums and surely is a nostalgic tale for many of the Japanese visitors who visit this space. The winter landscape that envelopes the fox mother and child is paralleled by the snowy scenery of the Echigo-Tsumari region. The experiences that both the fox mother and fox child have with humans in this tale also links with the theme of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale regarding humanity’s relationship with nature. Using this classroom as the stage, the artist makes visitors ponder between reality and fiction, and the passage of time, as they are surrounded with the light of summer and greenery of the environment outside of the building. Text: Emiko Yoshioka Exhibition: »Classroom« Ausstellung: »Classroom« 校舎の二階へ上ると、様々な小学校の備品が天井からつり下げられた風景が来場者を迎える。床面を埋め尽くすのは、新美南吉の児童文学『手袋を買いに』を綴った銀色の文字だ。鑑賞者はその言葉を追いながらインスタレーションの中を歩き、物語の世界と廃校の空間を行き来する。『手袋を買いに』はこれまで多くの日本の国語の教科書に採用され、日本人にとっては懐かしい童話だ。狐の母と子を包む冬の景色は、この地の雪深い冬の情景と重なる。母狐、子狐それぞれが体験した人間との接触は、大地の芸術祭のテーマである自然と人間との関係性にも呼応する。夏の光や木々の緑が静かに射し込むかつての教室を舞台に、現実と虚構、異なる時間軸、文脈が重層的に折り重なっていく。 テキスト:吉岡恵美子 展覧会:
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