The Last Snow of the Year
2021/8/15  15:00-   Opening performance
 

In my hometown in Inner Mongolia, I often see elderly people in the park writing on the ground with water. They are practicing calligraphy. It was as if they were playing and the letters they wrote dried up quickly. To me, this behavior is abstract, meaningless, and even more nonsense.

I came to Iwate Prefecture late last year, and last season I experienced such heavy snowfall for the first time in my life. During the long hours of snow piling up and melting, we all had to use our bodies to face the forces of nature.

I put some snow in the freezer and moved it to the exhibit room to melt. Then, with the melted snow and a paintbrush, I will write my personal history and memories of Inner Mongolia, Tokyo and Iwate on the floor of the exhibition room.

The handwriting dries quickly. Just like last season's snow, it is a process from something to nothing. However, the scars of the struggle with nature and life remain on our bodies and in our memories.

The BGM for this performance was a recording of a song my parents sang during a video call with my family.