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Environment as manifestation of "Surplus"
I think that a reclaimed land is the symbolic place of today's urban environment. It has a phase as the place for disposing wasted matters, the enormous surplus of materials as a result of our desire. On the other hand, it also has a phase as the site for which a lot of projects are planned. That means a reclaimed land holds both past and future at the same time in a very contemporary way. It seems that there have been a deep relation between "surplus" and the mechanism of our society. Gradually people learned how to deal with "surplus", And the way of dealing with "surplus", in other word, the system of making use of "surplus" has generated various cultures. The system has undergone many changes in the flow of time, and has helped to make people rich.
However, since the modern ages the amount of "surplus" has grown at an increasing tempo, and now it is superabundant. And people's attitude towards "surplus" became extreme, too. Especially in a contemporary society of highly developed capitalism, it seems that "excess" is a necessary element, and it is even part of the energy to maintain the society. In other word, we have to keep this "excess" in the society in order to survive. And eventually we ourselves are also becoming "excessive" existences for our environment.
It is in this aspect that a reclaimed land holds a very contemporary issue. The monotonous sight of a reclaimed land is not a cityscape but the manifestation of the result of our desire, the terminal of our energy for survival. The similar manifestation can be seen in various parts of today's urban space --- in construction sites, ruined buildings, etc. Especially the city of Tokyo seems to have an aspect of a huge test site of how we can obtain environments for our survival in the future.
This "excess" of our society can not simply be concealed. Even if it is covered up, it will steal out. No matter how skillful the systems of storage and control may be, a counter system will surely destroy it. For we humans are closely connected with our environments in many ways. A landscape (outer environment) is a reflection of humans (inner environment), just like a reclaimed land is a visible result of our desire.
The invisible energy of environment has been driving the mechanism of our society like a never-stop-train. Can humans and nature coexist in this mechanism forever? And also what will become of the function of art that is one of the manifestations of surplus? Is art open enough towards the society?
In my work I have tried to visualize the manifestation of surplus. I want people to employ their sensitivity and imagination in recognizing objects or matters of surplus that we are not aware of. This mental activity will be a journey of experiences in the spatiotemporal world that is overlapped on the environments of our everyday lives.
From comments on One-Person Exhibition at Lanami Gallery, Feb.1991
