A Remembrance of the Time "Plants" in Shihoro
For the art project "Project Mino / Shihoro", images and movies will appear on this page, which show you the state of the grounds, the growth of the plants and all the changes the nature brings-from the beginning of August till the end of September in 2001 in a particular place of Shihoro Town, Hokkaido. The images and the movies are renewed every day.
You can see real-time changes of the seasons in Shihoro-from summer to autumn.
The state of the ground on September 30, 2001
September 22 -

September 14 -21

September 6 - 13

August 29-September 5

August 21-28

August 13-20

August 5-12



Panorama Movie of the field work (QuickTime4.2)245k

August 5-25 Flash Movie986k

For the Panorama-Movie, it needs Quick Time. You can download it from here
The place of the field work in Shihoro
The place of the field work in Shihoro

I made twelve holes on the field in Shihoro.
I'm waiting for the water, wind, birds and other natural happenings to bring seeds and for new plants to grow there naturally. When the seeds sprouted, I will put the small new plants in the paper I had made, And the layout of the plants in the paper are the same as the place which the plants was growing on the ground before. The position of the plants in the paper are controlled by nature.
I wish to put inside paper time and remembrance of those moments which we can never see.
Yumiko Yamazaki, January 2001

About Project Mino / Shihoro

This project is an attempt that express the relationships between Mino City, Gifu and Shihoro Town, Hokkaido by means of works of art-the series of Yumiko Yamazaki's art project "Remembrance of the Time", showing the process of making it. The exhibition of these works will be held in both Mino City and Shihoro Town. Also, the workshop on the theme of "Remembrance" will be held in both places.

Concept of "A Remembrance of the Time"
The nature that I think about is composed of wind (air), rain (water), the sun (light), ground (earth), and time. These are the most important elements for all creatures on the earth. If we lose one of them, we are not able to survive. Our existence depends on the nature, and it is necessary for us to realize this now. We can feel the intention of the nature, but we are unable to see the actual form. I think, however, that we can embody it by means of this metaphor.

The important purpose of my work is to put the relationship and the balance of the position of the plants into the paper, and to change them into a condition where everyone can see the intention of nature. I want to embody the intention of the nature and present it in the form of an artwork so that people can see and feel its importance. I feel that it is necessary for us to see and feel this importance now.

Art work "A Remembrance of the Time"
For my first work in the "Plants" series in 1999, I chose a garden at the studio in Mino used for artists-in-residence. I dug 12 two-centimeter-deep rectangle holes on the surface of the garden. By taking away the plants, the roots, small stones, fallen leaves and other things from each of the holes, I exposed the ground and arranged it in preparation for the changes that can break out from this. I waited for about 2 months while seeds were carried there in the course of nature; roots took hold in places and small new plants sprouted. And, I put these new plants into the washi paper without changing the constitution, the position and the relationship of the plants that were created by the nature. The important purpose of my work is to put the relationship and balance of the position of the plants in to the paper, and to change it into a condition where everyone can see the intention of nature that I see and think about.