高田　慶実 / Sonny Square

2016年2月19日(金)～3月15日(火)　水曜休廊
Feb.19.2016-Mar.15.2016 12:00-19:00 wednesday closed
3月11日(金)は特別に21:00まで開廊致します。

オープニング・レセプション　2月21日(日)15:00〜19:00　Party Feb.21 Sun 15:00-19:00

「平成鯰絵巻・参」 /2015 /25.5 x 850cm /ink on paper scroll

Unfolding 3.11 

本展では、3.11を題材とした様々な作品(写真・絵巻・インスタレーション)を公開する。

あれから5年の月日が経つが、政府やマスメディアが原発事故直後に報じたようなチェルノブイリ級の放射能被害は、もたらされていない。原発が本当にメルトダウンしたのなら、どうして甚大な被害がないのだろうか?その他にも事故当初から不可解なことが多い。3.11以降、めまぐるしく変わる政治状況を見守りながら、東北沿岸部の現地調査、官邸前デモへの参加、幕末に出回った鯰絵の文献リサーチなどを行った。「事故について、人は断片的な報道の羅列で食傷気味になるだけで、公には何も知らされないだろう。だからこそ、個人が点と点を線にして、疑問を解くしかない。」と思った。私は情報を収集し、3.11およびそれ以降の関連点を繋げ、疑問を解消していった。その結果が今回の展示の主要作品である、全長20mの『平成鯰絵巻』(全三巻)である。昨年のグループ展「その界面を泳ぐ」で発表した壱巻に引き続き、今回は初めて弐巻と参巻を展示する。

鯰絵は要石の下の鯰が地震を起こしたという民俗信仰を基に、安政地震(1855)直後に多く絵師によって描かれ、その数は250点以上にものぼる。数々の作品を見て、鯰の描かれ方に3つの位相があると感じた。地震を起こした張本人として知られ、民衆のカタルシスの対象であった鯰は、懲らしめられた後は人の味方となり、しまいには神になる。この鯰の二転三転の見立てを三陸沖地震と津波、原発事故、そして平成お陰参りに対応させることで、3.11以降の変遷を円環的に捉えられるのではないだろうかと思った。また鯰絵は、災害をひとつの事実としてルポルタージュしたのではなく、人間社会における複雑多岐な解釈の厚みを、心の機微に触れつつ、絶妙に捉えている。私は「原発事故ー汚染水海水流出ー官邸デモー復興の兆しー廃炉作業ーオリンピック騒動ーお陰参り」という3.11以降の一連の状況を読み解き、これら鯰絵と並行させながら継ぎ目なく巻物に編み込むことで、過去・現在の連続性を持った地続きの出来事として解釈することを試みた。

『平成鯰絵巻』は、時折ユーモアを交えつつ、日本の神話、伝承、倫理、宗教、風習、政治など多様な要素を盛り込んでいる。3.11およびそれ以降の日本の現状を反芻する機会になればと思っている。

This show exhibits works in multiple mediums (including photography, ink on paper, and installation) all relevant to 3.11. It has been almost five years since the disaster, but the Fukushima nuclear plant has yet to cause any severe health issues on the level of Chernobyl as once anticipated by the mass media. If the Fukushima nuclear power plants had indeed suffered a meltdown, why was there no mass-casualty recorded in the official reports? As such, there were many inscrutable mysteries from the early stages of the accident. I had doubts about the so-called ‘official’ report of 3.11 to begin with, as well as the accounts of events that followed. This led me to actually conduct fieldwork research in the coastal area of Tohoku, participate in demonstrations in front of the National Diet Building, and study sources of the Namazu-e (or ‘pictures of the gigantic catfish’). I was fed up of reading news that only shed light on isolated facts and snippets of stories, dismayed by the small number of attempts at capturing any overarching narratives of the disaster. I felt it was up to the individual to connect the dots and to clear up these doubts. So I gathered information, followed the trail of facts, and attempted to unravel 3.11 to my capabilities. The result was the Heisei Catfish Scrolls, the second and third volumes of which are exhibited as the central works of this show, the entire tripartite series measuring 20 metres long in total.

Following the Ansei earthquake near Edo in 1855, many artists created woodblock prints in colour of the historical disaster, now collectively referred to as the Namazu-e, of which more than 250 examples still exist to this day. They were based on the Japanese folklore that explained how earthquakes were caused by giant catfish, normally sealed underneath a stone set by the Kashima daimyojin. Studying these works, I noticed that the catfish were depicted in three ways: one as an antagonist acting as a catharsis for the people to express their anger; two as an enemy-turned-ally of the people after being beaten by the Kashima daimyojin; and three as the godly figure of Yonaoshi daimyojin, the god of world rectification. Drawing parallels between these changing roles of the catfish to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the nuclear accident, and the Ise pilgrimage, I have attempted to interpret the series of incidents after 3.11 to come full circle. TheNamazu-e is not just a reportage of one natural disaster, but a drama that captures the varied and complex interpretation of how such events affect human society. By weaving elements from the Namazu-e and other works from the era seamlessly into the flow of events that followed the explosion of the Fukushima nuclear plant, I have attempted to interpret the post 3.11 situation in continuation with history that has recurring relevancy to the people of today.

These scrolls are a result of drawing together a variety of elements including Japanese mythology, folklore, ethics, religion, customs, and current domestic politics with the occasional spot of humour. I hope this exhibit provides viewers with an opportunity to reconsider the events of 3.11 in contemplating the future to come.

作家略歴

1980 広島生まれ
1998-2001 University of Arts London
2012 上智大学国際教養学部 美術史専攻 卒

主な展示

2014 個展 「Shred Painting 」 @ Art Trace Gallery
2015 グループ展「その界面を泳ぐ」 @ Art Trace Gallery