Nao Sugaya’s new work “days” has a strange persuasiveness in conveying the fact that military exercises are closely connected to the weather conditions of the earth, and that such type of information is undoubtedly carried out behind the scenes, away from our casual everyday lives.

There are daily activities that become entrenched within one’s own behavior and reflect the fact that human actions cannot withstand the influence of the workings of nature. For example, military exercises held by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. Forces in Japan are always performed after exhaustive investigations of each day’s weather conditions. If conditions are suitable, the exercises are carried out and fishermen are told to reduce the scope of the sea area where they fish. As a part of the hydrographic services of the Maritime Safety Agency, that information is broadcast on the country’s national NHK radio frequency for the fishermen in the area. Activities organized by a country, seen as a prescribed unit, can thus easily override the workings of nature. This can be seen as a natural measure for humans to conduct, as we all live and survive on this small planet through being aware of the threats of nature. But has that aforementioned daily effort that is undertaken by the military been sought after in any other field?

The recent earthquake catastrophe and resulting nuclear accidents in Japan have put us in an unprecedented, difficult position. Fine particles containing radioactive substances have been dispersed with the air currents that flow about the earth. Ironically, there probably was never a time that made us become more acutely sensitive toward the gaseous movements on the planet than the period following the tragedies. The diffusion of radioactive substances easily overrode the administrative divisions made on the ground, which were made by and for the convenience of humans. This once again made us become keenly aware that human activities cannot escape the influence of the workings of nature. The idea that considers human control of nature as being nothing but a folly derived from our self-conceit has been discussed from various angles in the past. But if the effort taken to deal with the problem of controlling nature was executed not through functions of our daily lives but through the prioritization of military affairs, then one must say that it is the worst example of putting the cart before the horse. Nao Sugaya quietly raises such questions in her new work, which is composed of a weather chart and the voice from a radio that notifies the Agency’s hydrographic services.

* The text provided by art & river bank

Period: 　Saturday, October 22 - Saturday, November 12, 2011
Venue: 　art & river bank
opening party: 2011.10.22(sat) 17:00-
performance: 10.22(sat) 16:00- / 11.12(sat) 16:00-