身近な地域で不発弾が三つ、四つと次々に発見され、足元を意識するようになった。
やがて、ふと、地中で眠る不発弾の火薬を分解しながら、鉄の容器いっぱいに根を伸ばしていくニセアカシアの姿が思い浮かんだ。私は普段庭師として植物と向き合うなかで、そのように自然の潜在的な治癒力に期待してしまう。
それは平和な日常で生まれた空想であって、自分が戦争の世界とかなり縁遠いことに気付かされる。それでも過去に起きた戦争の、まだ続く危険の上で生活していたとすれば全くの無関係ではなかっただろう。私がその悪を語るのは野暮だが、この連続して起きた不発弾の発見を未来に繋ぎ直す必要はあるのかもしれないと考えたことで、今回の制作は始まった。
As three, then four unexploded bombs were discovered in my own neighborhood, I became increasingly aware of the ground beneath my feet.
In time, an image surfaced: a black locust tree, slowly decomposing the explosives of a dormant bomb underground as it extended its roots to fill the iron casing. As a gardener who works closely with plants, I find myself placing a kind of hope in the latent healing power of nature.
This is a fantasy born within the safety of my everyday life, one that makes me realize just how distant I am from the realities of war. And yet, if we are living atop the lingering dangers of a past conflict, then we are not entirely unrelated to it. It may be presumptuous for me to speak of the evils of war, but the repeated discovery of these unexploded bombs led me to wonder whether they need to be reconnected to the future—and that became the starting point of this work.
[1] «不発の根#1», w110 x h180 x 1 cm, peシート, タフィティングクロス, 毛糸, photo by ToLoLo studio, [2] «不発の根#2», w100 x h168 x 1 cm, peシート, タフィティングクロス, 毛糸, [3] «鉢(不発弾）» w30 x h90 x d27 cm, 陶, 樹脂, 鉄, 植物 (フィカス), 土, 皿, [4] «不発の根#1», 細部, [5] «不発の根#3-4», w42 x h60 cm, 土嚢ぶくろ, ミシン糸, [6] «鉢（ボクシンググローブ）, 土嚢袋, 植物（カポック）, 土, モルタル, » , [7]-[8] «鉢を焼く», インスタレーション, 陶, パレット, 映像5分48秒, 2025
[1] «Roots of the Unexploded #1», w110 x h180 x d1 cm, PE sheet, tufting cloth,yarn, photo by ToLoLo studio, [2] «Roots of the Unexploded #2», w100 x h168 x d1 cm, PE sheet, tufting cloth, yarn, [3] «A flowerpot (unexploded bomb)», w30 x h90 x d27m, pottery, resin, iron, plant (Ficas) , soil, saucer, [4] Detail «Roots of the Unexploded #1», [5] «Roots of the Unexploded #3-4», w42 x h60 cm, sandbag, sewing thread, [6] A flowerpot (boxing glove)», sandbag, soil, plant(Schefflera), mortar, [7]-[8] «Firing up a flowerpot» installation, pottery, pallet, video 5'48'', 2023
Firing up a flowerpot, video 5'48''
«Roots of the Unexploded #1», w110 x h180 x 1 cm, Embroidery on PE Sheet, 2025
«Roots of the Unexploded #2», w100 x h168 x d1 cm, Embroidery on PE Sheet, 2025
Photo: courtesy of ©ToLoLo studio
© 2011- Gaku Nakano