この地球をひとつの器として考えると、あなたもわたしも、自然に依存した暮らしを営んでいます。けれどそのことを、せわしない日常で、どうやって思い出すことができるのでしょうか。わたしはその答えを、盆栽の中にみつけました。

わたしは人と自然との関わりを理解するため、人が手を加えた自然の造形を写真に撮り、わたし自身の解釈を織り交ぜながら作品をつくります。その過程のなかで、人がいかに自然を支配し、その美しさや恵みを手に入れようとしてきたか、あるいは一方で、人々の自然に対する畏怖やいつくしみ、愛情のあるまなざしを知るのです。

盆栽は鉢植えや庭木と違って、器の大きさをかなり限定し育てます。植物は、ほうっておけば自由な姿で育ちます。けれど盆栽はつねに細やかな手をかけ、世代をこえ長い年月をついやし育てることで、人が思い描く景色をたたえながら、ごく限られた場所に何百年と生き続けます。わたしはそこに、地球という器のなかに描かれる人々の営みを重ね見ました。

わたしが暮らすこの東京という場所は、過去の人々がいったいどれほどの願いと手をかけてあらわれた姿なのだろう。これからはなにを守り、なにを捨て、なにを伝えてゆくのか。わたしはこの作品をつくることで、あなたがすこし先の未来を想像しながら、いまなにを選択し生きるのかを考える、ひとつのきっかけになれたらと願っています。

-Series: Tokyo Bonkei

-Year: 2018

-Medium: Archival Pigment Print

-Paper: AWAGAMI FACTORY

-Camera: FUJIFILM X-T2, XF Lenses, ZEISS Touit

【撮影御協力】成勝園

I sometimes imagine if the earth would exist in one big container, like a bonsai tree. We all depend on nature but we don’t concern about our life relating to nature all the time. How can we remember it in the bustle of everyday life? I found the answer in a bonsai art. 

I take pictures of nature which are arranged and trimmed by people. From there, I figure out how people get involved with nature. When I make my artwork, I put my own idea into it. In the process of it, I get to know how human beings have controlled nature and tried to attain the beauty of them. Or otherwise, there is a feeling of awe and cherish for nature and I see people giving a look with full of love to the bonsai tree.

Bonsai is an art form of miniature tree in a container, being grown in a limited space. Not like a potted plant and garden trees, which grow freely without much of care, bonsai needs people’s special care. People have cared for it sensitively all the time and grown it for over generations. It is like a never ending journey with bonsai. It stays in the limited space and will live for hundreds of years, rewarding the scene that people dream. Whenever I see bonsai tree, I think about our ancestors and imagine how they have lived and taken care for our planet.

Tokyo, I wonder how much effort the people in the past made to make this place so big. Now, it’s time to think how we live our own lives. We have our future to protect. Let’s think about what we need and what we don’t. And I want to think about what to tell for the next generations. I will be happy if people think of their own future because of my artwork and I hope it will be highly motivating for you to think how you live from now on.