I am now on the way in the drizzling rain to the Aomori Contemporary Art Centre, which is located in a forest where there are Japanese red pine trees and various kinds of plants.

     Entering the main arched exhibition room of this show, which is entitled “Toshikatsu Endo Exhibition - Sacrifice and Void” (23/May/2009-28/Jun/2009), we are welcomed by the tremendous sound of water resonating within the whole room, which makes it difficult for us to recognize the direction from which the sound comes. Nonetheless, it is clear that the sound is of a different type from that of the drizzling rain, which beats softly against a window. While looking at a set of works in this room, we notice that the sound comes from the other side of a work made of an iron plate, which is displayed using the whole space of the wall at the back of the room. Looking up at the upper side of the work, which is more than three meters in height, we hear the sound of water and this makes us feel as if the water is flowing down from the iron plate at a frightening pace. Approaching the work so closely that we can press our ears against the plate, the sound becomes faint, yet as we step away from it the sound becomes louder. Anyway, we, the viewers, are requested to look at Endo’s other works while hearing this sound.

     However, this is not exactly what happens. Although, in the above, I have written “to look at”, Endo’s works require us to ‘feel’ them by using not only our visual senses but also our auditory senses, olfactory senses and imagination. The work entitled “Kyozo-dankai-setsu 2009/hourse” (horse skeletons, mirror, 2009), was created by putting horse skeletons on a mirror that lies flat on the floor,. It seems that we are requested to feel something through this work by using mainly our visual senses because the mirror reflects the shadow of the ceiling. Nevertheless, in this work, the mirror does not serve only to reflect the shadow; it also has a religious aspect. The amber-colored horse skeletons, which would be difficult to identify as belonging to horses without reading the description of the work, represent the idea that the mirror on which the skeletons are placed is a sacred place where a sacrifice was made. Therefore, it can be said that the mirror used in this work plays a role as a bridge between God and Man.

     Although there is no description of the specific aim of the sacrifice, we may be able to grasp the image of the final scene of the sacrifice through Endo’s other works, such as the boat-shaped “Kudo-setsu - Ki-no-fune” (timber(/fire), approx. 11 meters, 2009) and the pot-shaped “Kudo-setsu - ki-no-tsubo 2009 II” (timber(/fire), 70cm×70cm×H210cm, 2009) and “Kudo-setsu - ki-no-tsubo 2009 I” (timber/tar/soil(/fire), 44cm×H121cm cal. , 2009) [fig. 2], in all of which Endo uses objects which turn black when put on a fire. What are we required to do in this exhibition room while smelling the coal and the water which are used in his works? Ruminating about sacrifices, which would have been made by our distant ancestors, is exactly what Endo wants us to do while looking at his works.

     The work entitled “Kyozo-dankai-setsu 2008” (water/liquid silver/iron/acrylic paints/tar (/fire), 2008), which was created in the shape of a human left hand that is slightly larger than normal, seems to represent sacrifice symbolically by showing us the same scene of sacrifice as is depicted in the set of pot-shaped works. The burnt hand evokes for us the image of a sacrificial victim who has been put on the fire alive. In addition, liquid silver, which is piled up in the palm, may make us recall ancient times when liquid silver was used as a mirror. In this way, Endo’s works evoke memories of people living in the old times, when there was no custom of recording the history of the land in written form. His works give us a fresh and a slightly exciting image, though at the same time, they make us feel pain.

“I am extremely excited about presenting my works in Aomori since Aomori is a place that radiates strong magnetic energy, which arouses my interest.

Such an image of Aomori might be my own whimsical assumption. However, even though this image of Aomori is not always applicable, it is important for me that my imagination is significantly inspired by the Aomori region.”

     Endo’s quote above comes from a leaflet about this exhibition. Like him, I also have a special impression of Aomori, where we can find the Shirakami mountain range and the Sannai-Maruyama archaeological site, which is said to be the largest Jomon period settlement site, and so on. I think it is especially appropriate that this exhibition is held in Aomori, where the layers of history are still being unearthed even now. If there is anyone who hopes this exhibition will move around the country because he/she lives too far from Aomori to visit it, this would show that he/she has misunderstood the nature of this exhibition. The real purpose of this exhibition is to remind viewers of memories of the land where the exhibition is held. Sacrifice is not the kind of thing which can be seen everywhere.
(Translated by Nozomi Nakayama)

"Toshikatsu ENDO: Sacrifice and Void"
23/May/2009 - 28/Jun/2009
Venue: Aomori Contemporary Art Centre