About the artwork

Boundary / CycleAlthough animals and plants have adapted to the weather and climate by changing their bodies, humans have adapted by changing the environment which encloses their bodies, their clothes. The unique environment, colthing, has become part of the body. The fiber technology that has been nurtured with the climate of a place can be called the life and identity of that land and people. The human environment formed by the climate is an ecosystem, a bound less ring containing humans and others. This artwork, an installation to surround one particular place in Tokamach with woven dress, aimed to create the environment which envelopes humans.An-Gin Project 2003“An-Gin,” described as “woven dress” or “woven cloth,” is a technique of making cloth from ramie that has been nurtured in the Japanese climate from ancient times and was used for making items for daily use from 6,000 years ago up until around 1940s. However today this technique survives only in Tsumari and the surrounding area. This project aims at producing “An-Gin,” together with the local residents, from the raw materials for the purpose of restoring Japan’s fiber technology and handing it on to the next generation.