“Yaoyorozu”, the title of these works means “8 million” in Japanese language. However, this word does not mean the actual number but express “a huge number of” or “zillions of”. In Japan, there is an expression as “There are 8 millions of gods in this world” (Gods means more of spirits in Japanese.) Most Japanese believe that every single thing can have a spirit, not only in natural objects but also in artifacts. A mountain, a river, a tree, a house, an umbrella, a doll, even a rusty nail can hold a spirit in it.
These works are new gods or spirits in this modern society by combining mortar and parts of abandoned machines or tools.
Grandmother’s sewing machine
When I was a kid, Grandmother picked me up at the nursery every day instead of my parents because they were both working. She took care of me until my parents returned. She was very good at sewing and used to make not only personal items of herself, but also some required goods for my nursery school and elementary school with this sewing machine. Shoe bags, duvet covers, place mats, etc.
Twenty-five years have passed since she passed away. Meanwhile, the sewing machine stood in the corner of the room without being used. The tools used by my grandmother, such as needles and threads, are still remained intact in the drawer.
Made by Singer Corporation, in the 1920s.
In connection with locals and regions, Tamashima
I make gods or spirits out of some scrap material and enshrine it in the place where the material was used at.
At an exhibition in Tamashima, Okayama prefecture, where the atmosphere of the Edo era still remains, I received an onld electric saw, electric drill, chain mortiser that are no longer needed by a local woodworker, Mr. Moriya. I also got a typewriter from Mr. Yasuhara, who runs a hospital in Tamashima, and made sculptures using them as materials.
