for artists to use,
salt, Motoi Yamamoto refers to himself as a “Salt Installation
Artist.” Working with a tool that resembles a baster he sculptures in three-dimensions,
in the west we think of salt purely as an aid to cooking, although as a kid I remember that if you knocked over the salt shaker it was customary to take a pinch of it and throw it over your left shoulder,
but in in Japan it’s an element of the Shinto tradition that
symbolises purification, and it plays a fundamental role in rites surrounding
death, you may have also seen sumo wrestlers throw salt in the ring before starting a fight,
His latest installation is on view during the SetouchiTriennale 2016 on the island of Takamijima. “Floating Garden” was created on
the 2nd floor of an old Japanese home, and is “reminiscent of the tidal
currents around the Shiwaku Islands, interspersed with spirals signifying
rebirth and eternity.” as in standard Yamamoto tradition, the sculpture will be
destroyed, and the salt returned to the sea, on the final day of the festival:
November 6, 2016, I would never have thought to use salt as a medium, but there it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment