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重なる箱
紐の木彫／結び目のはなし
物語の量と在処
うつしかえ
monad
箱

Snow and my work

　In 2009, I moved from Tokyo to Nagaoka. Although I have no connection to this area, I have settled in here quite well. The biggest difference is the snow. Unlike the Pacific coast, this part of Japan is rather cloudy and grey, constantly raining or snowing during the winter. I have heard that people living in this part of Japan often suffer from depression due to shortage of sunlight. However, despite of all this, it turns out that this climate and living environment have suited me.
　The winter in Nagaoka has relatively mild temperatures and high humid, which is perfect for bigger snowflakes. There are no tall buildings to obstruct my view so that I can get the view that extends miles and miles away. I enjoy the view of snowflakes gently falling in the distance. The snowflakes move slowly and seem to be as if they are floating in the air. Those snowflakes become denser and denser as my vision goes far away. This gives me a sense of the size of space, and I am amazed by the massive amount of snow falling on the ground. Both the fineness and vastness of the snow blow away the emotional atmosphere, and then it turns into merciless threat.
　Since I moved here, my perspective on space has changed. I started to feel as if this empty space were filled with water in which exists a solid mass like an external mold of the substance. I felt as if I could measure that amount. This feeling gives me a clue for my creations, which transfer something invisible into a concrete figure.

　2009年に東京から長岡に転居した。縁の無い土地だったけれど特に不自由はなかった。一番の違いは雪。太平洋側とは異なり、冬は晴れることがなく、毎日雪か雨か曇り。鬱状態に陥ることも多いと聞いていたけれど、私の身にはこの環境はとても合っていた。
冬の長岡は気温があまり低くないことと、湿度が高いので雪片が大きい。そして高い建物がなくて遠くまで見渡せる。ずっと遠くまで雪片が舞っている。とてもゆっくりで、空中に留まっている。遠くに行くほど小さく密度を上げて、空間の厚さが驚くほどよく見える。そしてとてつもない量の雪が地上に降っているのがわかる。その雪の微細さと広大さは、情緒をも吹き飛ばし、静かに冷徹に迫ってくる。
　空間の見え方が変わった。水の中にいるみたいに、空中も実体に対しての雌型のような塊が在るみたいに、その量を測れるような心持ちになった。見えないものを具体的なものにかたちを与え直す、うつしかえるような制作への手掛かりになっている。