Fisherman's Dream (Saya Irie - Shodoshima)
The most talked about works of art are often the most spectacular, and very often spectacular is synonymous with big. Often, but not always.
The artwork I'd like to introduce today is probably the smallest of the Setouchi Triennale, and it's very easy to overlook. Which would be a shame, because it is indeed spectacular.
It is Fisherman's Dream by Saya Irie.
It debuted in 2019 and is located in a house in the 24 Eyes Movie Village, near the southeastern tip of Shodoshima.
It is the second artwork by Saya Irie for the Setouchi Triennale. She already had one in 2016, also on Shodoshima. (you can see it at the beginning of this post)
If you're not familiar with the 24 Eyes Movie Village, it's a village that was built as a set for one of the remakes of the film 24 Eyes. The village was designed to look like Shodoshima in the 1930s and 1940s, and was left as it was after the filming of the movie was completed. Since then, it's been used as a tourist attraction dedicated to post-war Japanese cinema, and it's a nice recreation that gives us a good idea of what Shodoshima looked like back then.
While many of the houses are now used as shops and restaurants, a few have kept their original look and can be visited. Including this fisherman's house.
In a corner of this house you can find today's artwork.
But before I show it to you, I need to explain Saya Irie's creation and working method (it's also explained on site with some videos). What she does is basically take some drawings and pictures of things, erase parts of it, and collect the eraser crumbs, now colored with the ink from the picture. Then she makes small sculptures with this unique material.
All the drawings and paintings on display are the ones she used. If you look closely, you'll see parts that have been erased.
And at the end of this narrow room you can see the result:
The main piece is the goddess Benzaiten as a mermaid. She is the "fisherman's dream."
So, if you visit Shodoshima (you should) and go to the 24 Eyes Movie Village (you should), don't miss this extraordinary but very small and easy to miss artwork.
If you want to know more about Saya Irie, here are two links:
Also, note that the 24 Eyes Movie Village will have a new artwork this year (its third one). It will be by Daikuke Omi and it should be great: a giant octopus on the coast, most likely in the style of his giant hermit crab in Konoura. And I realize that I don't think I've shown it to you on my site in the past. I posted this a little while ago, though:
That's all for today. If all goes well, I hope I'll have pictures of some new artworks next time.
Link
Only one link today : An interview of Sarah Hudson, a Maori artist that will be representing New Zealand at the Triennale this year.
See you soon.
Best,
David