中田一志　Kazushi Nakada

This is a ritual art project. In early 2014, it already had a draft, and the first work was completed in 2016. And it has been extended to 16 countries and 19 different locations. I meet people and make artwork that is based on their personal stories. Videos, photography, and art objects are produced as documentation of the art process, and one of the art objects is buried in nature in the end.

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Through dialogues with a participant, I use his or her personal story as a main concept. Meanwhile, a body of art objects is made. After documenting the art objects and taking a portrait of the participant, I buried one of those objects in the ground. The name of a project, the year, and the message "What is art like in your time?" from me are engraved on the surface of the object. Only the participants and I know the reserved location. Later the participant will talk to his or her acquaintances and families about this project.

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The current event happens in the present age, and it will be completed within the same time.  Most things and events cannot be prolonged. However, by using long-lasting material, burying an object, and creating an episodic memory, the project can progress on a time axis of 100 years and 1000 years. And I might even be able to transmit my art and thoughts into the distant future. It is like a legend from an Asian Buddhist scripture.

 

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