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[Title of work] ㉚ Image of memory

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KAZUKO SAITO
Born in Tokyo
​ 1960-
​[About the work]
The days when everything I felt with my body was far away. While feeling dizzy in the rapidly changing daily life, I feel myself floating in the excess of information. The events in front of us pass by every moment, and the passage of time never stops. Then, through a filter called me, only the melted ones sink into the pond of memory.

"Memory" is a motif of my sculpture that has been going on since 1987. When I look into the pond of memory inside me, I remember being surrounded by the vague and sweet light that appears and disappears. I am worried about such vague memories, and I find the fragments in the material called stone. By carving and polishing with the body, the memory is ruminated and becomes a "image of memory". And the work goes back to my daily life. I hope that it will pass through someone's filter and melt into the pond of memory. It becomes one of the information again and flows.

[Production] 2004 Yonago Sculpture Symposium
[Session] July 17 -August 28 , 2004

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[Participating in the Yonago Sculpture Symposium]

The 43-day symbolium began at Minatoyama Park in the heat of the heat. It was different from the production in the atelier, and it was a little hard until the rhythm was made, but the production venue where I go by bicycle every day was supported by the secretariat and volunteers, and it became a familiar atelier. I went. Since it is held in an open space called a park, many people watched it, and it was possible to show the sculpture production live not only to those who are interested in sculpture but also to various people who visit the park. It was meaningful to me. Communication with various people through sculpture production was not only fun but also difficult. However, on the contrary, it also became a comfortable feeling of tension, and as a result, I think it was one of the reasons why I was able to spend a fulfilling 43 days.

My place is in the park, where you can feel the cherry blossom trees around the work and the wind from the Nakaumi spreading to the west. Unfortunately, it was still cold when I visited for a preview, and when I couldn't see the shape of the cherry blossom buds, I heard about the wonderfulness of the cherry blossoms and the setting sun at the installation site. While envisioning a landscape surrounded by the colors and air of the pale bink of cherry blossoms, the warm orange of the setting sun, and the scent of the tide in the space of winter withering, I remember as if I imagined something nostalgic and soft. I have been thinking about a plan that I would like to comfortably accept such a soft space and create a sculpture that blends into the space. "I went to see the installation site every day during the production. It was past the time of flowers, and the cherry blossom trees in midsummer shined green and the dignified expression was impressive. The flowers are good, but the green is also good. The space surrounded by the colors of cherry blossoms and plants in each season will give various expressions to the work, and the sunset over the middle sea, which is more vivid than imagined, seems to illuminate the work more sweetly. For me, who imagined the scenery of spring, this was a big miscalculation.

For the artist, production is the time of conflict with the work and the honeymoon. And completion is the time to break up with the work. From the moment the work is completed, it is no longer in the hands of the artist, and the work blends into the space in which it is placed, creating a new sculptural space. I feel that sculptures are born from conflicts with writers and Mitsuzuki, and grow up in the surrounding space. That is why the space in which the sculpture is placed and the environment surrounding it are very important. Being able to create a work that includes the installation space should be the minimum requirement for a writer, but in reality it is very difficult to realize when installing a work.

This time, at the Yonago Symposium, we planned the work including the installation space from the beginning, and we were able to produce it almost as we imagined. This seems easy and difficult. I think it was possible because of the great cooperation and understanding of the people involved. I'm really thankful to you. The rest is to blend in with the space surrounding the work and grow into a presence that is loved by more Yonago people. Please keep an eye on me for a long time.

 
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