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I am fond of Tokyo Bay, which is a vast artificial island, a landfill, created out of an enormous amount of disposed garbage. The image of this island can be consistently seen at the foundation of my artworks. On this man-made island, trees and grass have thickly grown over the layer of earth and sand that was covered over the waste materials. Therefore, this site, which appears to have a natural view untouched by human hands, is inherently full of contradictions and paradoxes. When I stand on this island, various inspirations and questions arise within me, such as "To what extent is nature considered 'natural' ? or "To what extent should nature be considered 'natural' ?
In my view, the man-made objects of today, produced by the civilization of humankind and nature are not necessarily seen as being in opposing positions. For example, if we were to look at the boundary between a real life and a manipulated life (such as one that is being operated on by genome analysis), or the boundary between the climate and the changes in climate (due to carbon dioxide emissions), it would be apparent that both boundaries have become ambiguous. The primitive sense that people used to have, which could instinctively detect that human beings and nature coexist within a continuum, now seems to be undergoing a change of phase and is being recreated into the sensibilities of the new age. In other words, we are living in an age when a hybrid sense is being manifested: "nature based on artificiality" and "artificiality based on nature." Therefore, the entire civilization that has been created by humankind and nature has become a hybrid via the products and waste materials we have produced, as well as via the processes, which have brought about pollution and destruction.
Nowadays, human hands have extended around the entire globe, resulting in a tremendous amount of objects and information that are being circulated throughout the world. In time, the globe itself will become one big city. In the meantime, the existing cities (including New York, Tokyo, Athens and Baghdad) will have become "another form of nature" that can link with natural phenomena in a myriad of ways, instead of being the kind of spaces that humans once built that were in stark contrast to nature. This is the image I have of a "city," which I have utilized as one of the themes in my artworks for many years.
The same situation can be found in web sites on the Internet. That is, the Internet has created a network that seems as if the globe in its entirety has become a single "brain." The relationship between the globe (which can be considered a model of nature) and the brain (which is the origin behind the making of artificial products) has in actuality become solidified and indivisible. Therefore, as long as the brain is a part of the body, the body is a part of nature, and the city is "another form of nature," it is a matter of course for the relationship between the three (the brain, the city and the earth) to become so analogized.
I aim to clarify the relationship between the body seen as the basis of spontaneous actions, and the body seen as being interwoven with artificial recognition; I then aim to explore the relationship between the body and nature. In clarifying these relationships, my intention is precisely aimed at knowing human beings. Therefore, in order for me to get to know human beings (that is, to know what it means for humans to live as humans), it is inevitable that I get myself involved with sites and objects. The sites in which I place myself are those such as a city or a landfill; the objects I utilize in my works are waste materials, soil, scaled-down chairs and house-shaped objects, as well as skulls, which I have often used in my performances. I also aim to continuously conduct my artistic activities (including my fieldwork projects, productions and performances) by utilizing my own body.
The civilization of humankind has been created by becoming intricately linked with natural phenomena at all levels. I prefer things that easily break, such as fragile existences that begin to collapse as they are being piled on top of each other. I feel beauty in a figure that can simultaneously possess the critical point between existence and collapse, while supporting itself with a sense of nonchalant transience. This precisely represents the figure of civilization as created by humankind, and is also the inspiration I perceive when I am at a landfill.
(2003 MARUYAMA Tokio)
