Materials :

soil, compost, exotic and native plants, screen, projector, speaker, residue at abandoned building

Description:

During a field visit, I encountered the remains of a former agricultural cooperative facility operated by JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives).At the entrance—left untouched in its abandoned state—hung a replica of The Sower by Jean-François Millet.

This now-empty, man-made space once functioned as a hub of agricultural collaboration and local community.The name “cooperative,” which had supported both agriculture and regional life, now quietly decays along with the building itself.Millet’s The Sower has long been admired as a dignified representation of the working farmer.At the same time, some conservative observers viewed the figure as subversive—interpreting the act of sowing as a symbolic protest against authority.

Indeed, sowing seeds has historically signified both the beginning of something and a subtle form of resistance.The exhibition takes place in an abandoned company housing complex,constructed during Japan’s period of rapid economic growth.Built with exposed concrete, the structure once accommodated workers who had relocated from rural areas,living here as part of a collective.Traces of daily life still remain in the individual rooms, faint but palpable.

Concrete, while man-made, possesses an alkaline property within the natural environment.Into this space, I introduced acidic soil and planted non-native vegetation.

Inside the same room, a video work plays continuously.It features a clown figure traveling from place to place, appearing to recruit plants—a fragile and transient gesture, unfolding like a fading dream.

Music: Takeshi Kobayashi
Clown/Animation: Jun Yamaguchi
Director of Photography: Kenji Agata
Special Thanks:KURKKU FIELDS, Mami Kurihara, Manami Nishioka, Sachiko Matsumoto

Photo: Aki Itagaki ( Nacása & Partners Inc.)