Japan adventure

As part of an art-culture exchange to Tatebayashi Japan I designed a collaborative two metre sculpture which features four strong pillars made from salvaged pine wood that make up an imposing sculpture two metes high and 800mm square.

Fiona Dempster assisted me to construct the sculpture which needed to be created in situ in two days. Material and equipment requirements were both a challenge and a great experience in international communication, good will and cooperation. A local builder, Kanda-san, provided all the recycled timber cut to size. Local artists such as Tombow and her friends including Bessie supplied a range of tools. A trip to a great local hardware store resulted in all the glues and screws required. Fiona and I so loved the hardware store, more an Aladdin’s cave, that we had to return to make purchases to bring back home.

There was a great sense of support for the sculpture to become a reality and I was really relieved when the four pillars were manhandled into the exhibition space with a couple of hours to spare.

The final sculpture was much more than the wooden structure as its ledges and niches accommodated about twenty small art pieces contributed by the eight Australian artists and eight Tatebayashi artists. A truly collaborative sculpture was created. The pictures below show: the pieces of timber we started with; progress; the raw completed sculpture; and then the sculpture with the smaller pieces in place.