JOURNALS

I was really deeply moved that we finally managed to accomplish everything for this opening - it has been about 3 years since Anniken and I discussed working on some kind of project between Norway and Japan; in that time, Gabriella joined us, Lesley was asked to be overall curator, Keiko Kawashima, joined us as coordinator on the Japanese side, the participating artists were all chosen, Galleri F15 was selected to host the exhibition and we obtained the cooperation of a lot of people, including Anne Wiland and the Norwegian Embassy. 

I visited Norway last summer and it was extremely fruitful for me to actually see for myself the beautiful land where Anniken lives as I visited Galleri F15, toured Oslo and went on a trip to the fjords, I was also able to reflect deeply about my own country, Japan.  As a result, I was able to firm up my direction for the project, which was still vague, and link it to my solo exhibition in November.  In November, Anniken, Bob and Lesley visited Japan and after my solo exhibition closed, the days passed like a whirlwind until all the works were shipped in March. 

I arrived in Oslo with Keiko Kawashima on the 28th March and we were both surprised to hear that Anniken, who came to meet us, was 5 months pregnant.  On the following day, the 3 of us, Lesley, Keiko Kawashima and I entered our lodgings, that evening Yuka Kawai arrived and late at night Gabriella and Kiyonori Shimada also arrived; from the following day we started to work on the installations at F15 which was hard work yet enjoyable.  First was Kiyonori Shimada’s outdoor installation; to begin I watched as the technicians, without gloves, opened a hole in the snow to anchor it.  As well as working very hard, the technicians were kind and warm-hearted, all three of the Japanese women became very fond of Norwegian men.  All of our installations progressed smoothly and it was stimulating for me in many ways to encounter the new works of the other artists; finally as evening fell, on the Thursday, it was time for Gabriella’s outside exhibition in the trees and I was simply amazed by the technicians who continued to work so very hard in the freezing fog.

I think it was the snowy landscape but I was amazed to see that the very strong sun allowed a glimpse of the earth one minute and the next minute the landscape appeared bathed in frost; the dramatic changes to the weather seemed mystical to me, and my journeys to and from the gallery were extremely beautiful and very enjoyable. 

Anniken and Machiko's collaborative work

My own piece was installed smoothly and more quickly than I expected thanks to help from Keiko Kawashima and the technicians, and was displayed quite comfortably in the space provided.  As soon as I saw the greenhouse placed beside the grove I was confident that my collaboration with Anniken would go well; I had no differences of opinion with Anniken and we were able to set it up smoothly and quickly.

Since I completed the exhibition installation earlier than expected, on the 3rd of April I was able to go to Oslo and say goodbye to Kiyonori Shimada who was returning to Japan ahead of the others.

I was extremely thrilled and delighted when I saw so many people at the opening including Japan’s Ambassador to Norway and Kari Hirth from the Norwegian Embassy of Tokyo, who happened to be in Norway.  I am extremely grateful to everyone who supported me.

I had heard the extremely sad news that Gabriella’s father died in January but I also knew that Anniken was expecting her second child and this reminded me of the words of the Japanese 13th Century poet Kamo no Chōmei, who said, “Ceaselessly the river flows and yet, the water is never the same”.  This appears to mean that things, whether good or bad, do not stay the same; it was an informative 10 days and I gained a real sense of events moving forward.

I would like to sincerely thank everyone who helped me.