HIROYUKI KOBAYASHI ABOUT HIS WORK AND REDRAW TRAGEDY
HIROYUKI KOBAYASHI ABOUT HIS WORK AND REDRAW TRAGEDY
Hiroyuki Kobayashi lives and works in Okayama, Japan. He is co-initiator of the exhibition project REDRAW TRAGEDY.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi’s works deal with the interplay between historical facts and individually experienced truth, using pewter replicated stones (representative of places and events) in his sculptures and installations.
The works Immovable Balance and Re feature casts of collected stones from the site of the 2018 flood disaster in Okayama. “New forms cast from the same stone look the same at first glance. However, there are subtle differences depending on temperature and speed, with the rate at which the metal is cast and the resulting shrinkage. Similarly, there are differences in people’s feelings and memories.”
In Re, Kobayashi forms a tatami from the collected stones, a new place for the memories and lost homes of those affected. The 13 scales Case 1- 13 symbolize the situation in Okinawa in light of the numerous American military bases. Okinawa was conquered by Japan, during World War II it was the only country in Japan where a ground battle took place. It was also ruled by the United States for decades, even today there are numerous military bases in Okinawa. The stones are replicas of found stones outside the gates of the bases.
Website: https://hiroyukikobayashi0.wixsite.com/official/works-1
Hiroyuki Kobayashi: Common Ground
“I knew that when we are confronted with a tragedy or a disaster, we all want to solve something with the power of art, we want to capture something as art, as artists.”