Participatory work

The objective of this work was to capture participants images or thoughts of MIzu (water)  - anything that came into their mind.

They painted or drew on hand-made postcards.  The event was conducted in Dundee and in London, as a part of Japan-UK 150 event.

After the events, about 600 postcards were sent by sea-mail to the community centre in Fukuoka Japan, where I held a similar event.

The post cards, by being sent by sea-mail, meant that they would have “touched” both the soil and oceans connecting Britain and Japan, which combined everyone’s ideas, which was the purpose of this participatory work.

Mizu Utsuwa

Washi (Japanese rice paper), dried rice stalks and water

The first stages of “Mizu” were participatory works held at the Society of Scottish Artists (SSA) Annual Exhibition in Dundeeand the Swiss Cottage Community Centre in London 2009. 

 The visitors wrote or drew their images of “Mizu” on hand made postcards that are now on their way to Japan by ‘ Sea Mail ‘.

The inspiration for this series is my great-grand father, who hadinvolved in the movement to purchase a vital reservoir of water for their village farmers.   Previously there had been fighting and blood shed with the other villages over the water to irrigate their rice fields [ when planning rice in the fields the soil must be completely covered by water]

Due to the success of these negotiations, the farmers stopped fighting and water was available for all.  

In this exhibition the shape of the four pieces of rice paper stitched together with dried rice stalks symbolises “TA” which is Japanese Kanji character meaning “Rice Field”. The other element is water (Mizu) which is a fundamental require When grow rice.

The final exhibition in this series will be held in October in Japan.  I am going back to the village to show the work from British Exhibitions.

This will be held at the community centre, which was built in 1979 by selling the very same reservoir which had since lost its purpose. 

The villages had become a large town, and the rice fields no longer exist or need the water. 

There will be a final participatory activity involving the local people where I was born.

Thanks to:
Hatsumi Goto
Nishihoshikuma Community members

Lisa Keiko Kirton