Sumpf Land

　Kuribayashi Takashi has created here two different worlds in one gallery. What he presents in this work, entitled Sumpf Land, or “marshland” in German, is the interface between two worlds. Kuribayashi’s work has long dealt with this “boundary” theme by integrating different spaces−on two sides of a wall, or floor and ceiling−into his installations. Boundaries, of course, include more than the obvious national borders; they also originate in our minds, in the implicit preconceptions that shackle our thinking. The larger intention of his work is to provoke different perspectives on things, to suggest new ways of looking at things.
　Kuribayashi is an avid diver and marine sportsman, and these experiences of communing with nature provide an important background for his work, in that he often uses water, and living, changing materials found in nature. Here Kuribayashi is attempting something new to the museum experience, namely, a space that is literally alive and will grow. The result is, in his words, “a work that keeps changing, and growing; defying common wisdom,” “a work that will offer different aspects for each season, and gives viewers different experiences and inspirations.” In the attic into which a seal peeks, unfolds a world full of surprise that can only be experienced here.

Photo : Iwasaki Mami