Blinking Leaves

• 2003
• Leave : 10.5 x 5.5 x 0.02cm / Equipment : 600 x 80 x 80cm
• material : Paper, Fiber Reinforced Plastics, Air Blower and Bench

Leaves cut from paper printed with eyes open
on the front and eyes closed on the back look like
they are blinking as they spin around in the air.

If the cylinder is likened to a tree trunk, the leaves blown upward appear
to from a tree. For an instant, invisble branches grow out in the air;
it looks like the annual cycle of a deciduuous tree depicted in just a few seconds.
I felt like a tree myself as I was enveloped with so many leaves
floating down around my head.

As more and more leaves were put in the cylinder, the sight of the myriad
of leaves floating down, touching and flying off people’s hands gave me
the feeling that they had turned into trees. The children were engrossed in
gathering up the leaves, chasing furiously after them. The installation produced
a play space without beginning or end that seemed to go on forever.

All of the leaves blown high up into the sky would create a giant “tree” in the air;
for a moment, the city would be enveloped in “blinks.” For that installation
I would make the leaves out of edible paper because it would bo good for
the environment if the leaves could be returned to the soil. But the main reason
is that I imagine the possibility of hungry birds catching some in the air,
so we might be able to see instants when “mabataki” meets “habataki.”