A person changes his life because of one thing, and a city can also be transformed because of one thing. Fifty years ago, in the winter, the world's top ice and snow sports masters gathered in Sapporo, Hokkaido. This snow capital, which lies just outside the Japanese island of Honshu, has become famous for hosting the 11th Winter Olympics.
The international event half a century ago not only gave Sapporo people a more convenient, fast and environmentally friendly way to travel, the subway, but also made ice and snow activities a part of the lives of local residents. Sapporo's annual snow festival and well-developed ski facilities attract tourists from all over the world to embark on a world of ice and purity in winter.
Toshihiko Shibuya, an artist born and raised in Szyska, has incorporated his ice and snow memories into his snow installation Snow Pallet, documenting the natural beauty of the city of Sapporo for ten consecutive years.
Toshihiko Shibuya is a Sapporo artist in Hokkaido, Japan, whose work has always been relevant to his upbringing in his hometown of Sapporo. Representative works include snow Pallet series, Generation series, White Collection series and so on. This edition of the picture Shibuya Toshihiko
Time – the record of the earth
"Snow Tray" is an installation artwork by Toshihiko Shibuya that uses art to show past landscapes and weather memories. Although the snow in Hokkaido still grows more than 6 meters thick every winter, Shibuya remembers the snow thicker as a child. As far as his eyes could see, he knew exactly that the amount of snowfall in Hokkaido was decreasing year by year, and in recent years there had even been irregular snowfall from heavy snow to no snow in a short period of time.
"What is the direction of the earth? Where will we be in the future? Will there be a day when we will never see snow again? He realized that these are closely related to global warming and climate change. Environmental issues are a pressing issue for any country.
Therefore, Shibuya Toshihiko hopes to set out from his hometown of Sapporo to show his record and reflections on time, weather, and past scenery in works of art in the snow-covered area. In February 2011, his first "snow tray" was unveiled in Sapporo's Swamp Park, and every year, a new "snow tray" is exhibited in Sapporo, which looks different every year.
There are several types of trays scattered in the snow, ranging from a single small disc to two discs stacked on top of each other, or Z-shaped. Each time he designs a new shape and adds it to a regular tray, he creates a unique landscape, as the bottom of each tray is painted with fluorescent paint and the snow surface takes on a different color.
The snow is like a blank canvas, and different paint colors reflect on the clean snow surface, making the snow in the courtyard appear cleaner. These colored reflections are like a small colored lamp, and their projections vary in depth and light with the intensity of the sun's illumination and the changes in the shadows in the environment over time of the day, as if playing music of different tunes.
Do not control nature, get close to nature, and skillfully use nature as Shibuya's creative philosophy. Thus, the "Snow Tray" is entirely a weather-dependent art installation, "We cannot tame nature." ”
The work can change the landscape according to the time of day, the amount of snow, the amount of sunshine, and the different numbers and heights of the "pallets". When the snow is thicker, the lower trays will be completely buried in the snow, and when the snow is warmed, it may be revealed again; the slightly taller ones look very close to the snow surface.
Shibuya saw this "random art" installation as a time-landscape land art that was retained until the snow melted in March of the following year.
Two works, different stories
This winter, Toshihiko Shibuya made two works, snow tray series 14 and 15, respectively, in the courtyard of the Tomakomai City Museum and the outdoor platform of the Geimori w-awesome in Sapporo. Tomakomai is a port city in southern Hokkaido, where only 1.4 meters of snow falls in winter, a quarter of the amount of snow in Sapporo; the largest amount of snow in a year is only 23 centimeters.
This is also the first time in ten years that Shibuya has tried to place this series of works in areas with little snow, and it is titled "Waiting for Snow in the Yard: Thin Snow". He installed only 10 tall trays expecting snow in the courtyard of the Tomakomai City Museum and 11 discs with a height of 5 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm, and 20 cm, with a maximum diameter of 1 meter; the entire area was also the smallest in the past year, only 19 square meters.
Shibuya said that on a snowless sunny day, visitors can see the reflection of the overlapping parts of these trays when they look up at the sky; on rainy days, they can see brightly colored raindrops dancing on the trays, which become "rainy trays".
However, this winter's climate was completely unexpected by Shibuya, and on January 5, there was heavy snowfall on tomakomai, with snow as high as more than 30 centimeters, and within a day, the low tray was completely covered with snow. In the days that followed, the snow gradually melted, and the color reflection effect of the tray appeared on the ground, and the snow on the top of the high tray resembled ice carved with a carving knife.
Snow Tray 15, called "ICE ART LABO", is on display from January 15 to February 27 on an outdoor platform of 3,000 square meters in Sapporo. The "Anthropocene" refers to the geological epoch in which human beings began to have a significant impact on the Earth's environment since the time of the Industrial Revolution.
This time, Shibuya installed 65 butterfly-shaped trays, and he wondered what shape the snow would pile up on these butterfly-shaped objects.
Since he had become accustomed to light snow in recent years, he felt that the snow in January this year was a little heavier than usual. If it snows heavily every day, all the trays may be completely covered with snow. Shibuya said: "Even if there are many people who come to visit, I will not dig them up. I have to wait to see the spring when the snow and ice melt, which is an unforgettable winter. ”
Snow trays reflect the natural changes
Toshihiko Shibuya had lived in Tokyo for 14 years, and it didn't snow much in Tokyo, but it made him feel colder. Back in Sapporo, where it was snowing heavily, he became more and more in awe of nature. "Nature is sometimes cruel, and the snow in Hokkaido can be deadly." For people who hate winter, Shibuya says that if you change your attitude, the possibility of winter will increase. "The snow was harsh and gentle. Without snow, my art would not have been possible. ”
During the ten-year exhibition, Shibuya encountered a wide variety of audiences. A security volunteer at the museum told him, "I hate winter, but since installing snow trays here, I've been enjoying the changing scenery every day." When it snows in the evening, you will excitedly look forward to the scenery the next morning. ”
Another visitor told him that "nothing can be seen, everywhere is covered with snow" and asked Shibuya to sweep away the excess snow around the work and keep it in its best condition.
Where the snow doesn't fall much, there will be viewers complaining to him and asking him why he didn't put the snow on it to keep it in better shape.
For such "interrogation", Shibuya still adheres to his creative philosophy - not to control nature. "When Japanese people go to cherry blossom viewing in the spring, no one blames the flowers for blooming too early or complains that if they bloom too late, they will wither away in a few days. However, people want to control the snow in winter. ”
Some Italian tourists feel that Shibuya's creation seems to be a tradition of Japanese culture – preserving its original beauty. "In your work, the snow tray is not the protagonist, the snow is. Nature creates the shape of snow. Your work seems to be an art installation, but it makes us aware of the beauty of nature. ”
Shibuya said that it has nothing to do with Japanese tradition, and it is the winter in Hokkaido that creates the traditional Beauty of Japan. Through the snow tray, he not only understands the natural characteristics of the region, but also sees the natural changes.
Shibuya is also concerned that the snow tray project may disappear in the future due to the lack of snowfall. Still, he hopes to continue the project, maybe for another 10 years, after which he is willing to entrust it to young people who understand his heart. (Editor-in-charge: Sun Xiaoning)