Yuuki Flower – Message to Japan
Message to Japan:
As we made this artwork we let our hearts break with grief and swell with promise, observing that sadness is a big step beyond anger towards a peaceful place. It takes real courage to be cheerful sometimes, to imagine a future and do all the work to build it, again and again, every day. When we make art it feels therapeutic, because, similar to meditation, it requires lots of attention, lots of skillful practice, and, ultimately, letting go and getting lost in making results in the best effect. Making an idea into an object or experience in the real world requires bravery and creates confidence, so we made the Yuuki Flower so that other people can also have the experience of making, the satisfaction of building, and the fun of playing. The centre of the flower and the sprouting bud show the Happy Sleepy character we invented to help us remember our freedom to choose at least an attitude to a life situation, ranging from happily proactive to sleepily accepting. Even that choice can be scary, and sometimes large, explosive amounts of bravery are needed just to get through the day!
Project Context
When the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake devastated North Eastern Tohoku, Japan, in March 2011, there was a movement of relief efforts from all over the world as well as in Japan. At the end of the academic year in Japan this year, large amounts of relief supplies that were not needed were still filling up entire gymnasiums in local schools. All donations were to be moved or discarded before the new academic year.
Amongst the supplies to be disposed of were many used Japanese school backpacks, as the government had donated new ones. The project curator, Daisuke Takeya, managed to have them donated for an alternative use, the FIELD TRIP Project in which artists are commisioned to transform dozens of backpacks into works of art.
Exhibition Dates and Locations
The exhibition will travel throughout the disaster areas in Japan and will be displayed in various locations starting in August 2012. The exhibition will come back to display in Canada in 2013 and is also planned for other international location
www.happysleepy.com/exhibitions/field-trip-project/
The Field Trip Project is organized by DAICHI projects. Learn more on the project page: www.daichiprojects.org/en/fieldtripproject/
Posted by Happy Sleepy on 2012-08-21 14:51:44
Tagged: , Yuuki Flower , courage , bravery , flower , textile , sculpture , fabric , Happy Sleepy , Marc Ngui , Magda Wojtyra , contemporary , art , happysleepy.com , artist life
