flow

2025. Mixed media: river sand, 3000(W)x3000(D)x400(H)mm.

Exhibited at the Nakanojo Biennale 2025.

This installation drew inspiration from long-term fieldwork along the rivers of the Nakanojo and Agatsuma regions, with a particular focus on their distinctive geological characteristics.

River sand, spread in a circular form, slowly traces outward-flowing patterns—samon, or sand ripples. As time passes, the trajectories shift, and the patterns are continuously redrawn.

When I first entered this space—surrounded by massive tanks that still retain the quiet presence of a former sake brewery—I saw an image of the Nakanojo Basin, held gently by the surrounding mountains, overlap with the scene before me. Tens of thousands of years ago, this basin is said to have been a vast lake. I sought to evoke that ancient landscape within this space.

Each grain of sand, inscribing patterns across deep time, invites viewers to journey back through the ages and stirs thought and imagination.

Documentation from the fieldwork is presented alongside the installation.

中之条ビエンナーレ2025出品作品。

中之条町・吾妻地域の独特の地質に着目し、河川を巡る長期的なフィールドワークから着想を得たインスタレーション作品。

円形に撒かれた川砂は、ゆっくりと放射状に砂紋を描き出す。時間の経過とともに軌道は変化し、模様は繰り返し描き直されていく。

かつての酒蔵の気配を残す巨大なタンクに囲まれたこの空間を初めて訪れたとき、山々に抱かれた中之条盆地の姿が重なって見えた。十数万年前、この盆地は広大な湖であったとされる。その光景を、この空間に立ち上がらせたいと考えた。

悠久の時を経て紋様を刻む砂一粒一粒が、時を遡る旅へと誘い、思考や想像をかき立てる。

本作とともに、フィールドワークの記録も併せて展示。

Former Hirozakari Brewery, Nakanojo, Gunma, Japan / Nakanojo Biennale (2025）