Sayoko Suwabe

2021.08

In October 2019, Typhoon Hagibis, the largest typhoon in the history of the region, hit the Kanto area of Japan. The town of Saruhashi in Otsuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture, where the artist was working in residence at the time and planned an exhibition, was similarly damaged, with the Chuo Railway Line, Chuo Expressway, and other routes from urban Tokyo half destroyed. The damage to the Katsura River, in particular, was so severe that the water around Saruhashi Bridge visibly increased and swelled up, engulfing everything in its path.
In a single day, the once calm Katsura River changed its appearance, and its route changed dramatically.
The artist's experience of the instantaneous transformation of the natural topography of the river led her to create a sculpture that traces the shape of the river before and after the rise of the water, as well as stones collected from the Katsura River. Drawings made during the research were also exhibited.
 
Katsura River... Fed by Lake Yamanaka, the river collects water from the northern foot of Mt. Fuji, empties into Lake Sagami, and continues to Kanagawa and Sagami Bay. Its upper reaches show landforms related to the eruptions of Mt. Fuji.
Archaeological remains and earthenware from the Jomon period have been found in this area, whose topography was carved by the Katsura River, which flows from the ranges of Mt. Fuji. The fish brought in by the Katsura River were suitable for hunting, and people made a living alongside it.
 
 
 
 
2019 年 10 月、史上最大規模の台風「ハギビス」が関東を襲った。 当時作者が滞在制作をしており、展示を企画した場所、山梨県大月市猿橋も同様に中央線や中央高速など都心からのルートが半壊するなどの被害を受けた。こと桂川においてはその被害が甚大で、猿橋周辺は目に見えて水量が増し、あたりのものを巻き込んで大きく膨らんだ。
1日のうちに穏やかだった桂川は表情を変え、経路も大きく変わった。
一瞬にして当たり前だった地形が変貌した作者の体験から本展では、増水後の川の形状と増水前の川の形状をなぞり掘削した彫刻作品、桂川にて採取した石を展示。またそのリサーチの際のドローイングも同様に展示する。
 
桂川...山中湖を水源とする河川。富士山北麓の水を集めて相模湖に注ぎ、神奈川、相模湾まで続く。富士山の噴火による噴出物に関連した地形が上流では見られる。
さかのぼると縄文時代の遺跡や土器が発見される当地域は、富士山岳から流れる桂川が削り作り出された地形を持つ。この桂川がもたらす魚が狩りに向き、人々は生活をなしていた。