Can you tell me about your recent works for Volkswagen?

‘Exosphere/Globefield‘ was completed and installed in May 2000. It was an exiting and extremely exhausting project for me because I dealt with a commercial client – not a museum. I needed a vacation after that one – and never got it… Luckily the work there is permanent and you will be able to see it there for a long time. Actually – riding a train to Berlin you can see the big sculpture from the train. Looks especially cool at night.

I ask you about this event Demeter. How was the impression of Obihiro, Tokachi area?

It’s been a “natsukashi” experience because of the strange similarities to the area where I was born. There are many things from the taste of sausages to the view of the landscape. So many things are so similar that I’m in kind of a strange dream. It’s a bit surprising.

After you visiting the horse race track where the Demeter event will be held, did you get inspiration or ideas what to make?

Oh, yes ideas, but it’s still a secret because I have to work on that. Otherwise if I tell what I’m thinking, dreaming, hoping and then I’m doing something completely different, I will create disappointment. After all we have a very limited budget. This is critical as we are creating all new site-specific works. So far, my fantasy is unlimited but the budget is limited.

Is that going to be completely different from your past works?

Yes and No. Of course it might be quite different but… well, sometimes you walk and sometimes you jump, so maybe I try to jump. We’ll see…

There are many existing buildings like stables. Are you going to use them?

There is one building, which is not a stable, that I liked in particular. I think I’m going to use it, but then, I sometimes have this idea doing something very new and specific and then I realize “Oh, the technology I need is not that easy available, maybe not small enough to really work with … there are always some kind of limitations. I would like to use thus building or some of the stables for sure. But a huge problem is the stench. We have to figure out how to override that horse shit smell.

What will be the most interesting and attractive thing in this invent Demeter for you and the visitors?

I’m not quite sure yet. What is attractive anyway is that this is a very rural and raw area and for any artist who comes to the site it will have some impact. There is already something there. And the site is too seductive so that we fall in love with it. This is not a normal site for an art exhibition. So I am excited. I am tempted to say: “This is great. Let’s just leave it the way it is! Fantastic!”, you know. That would be the biggest danger but I am, of course, impressed by that site and everything. So it could be the most attractive to do nothing to it – to just leave it. But we have to overcome this initial instinct.
For the audience, I think it is the biggest challenge to get from one place to the other because it’s so damned large an area. And it will be pretty hot in the summer.

This is the last question. Many artists are invited to Demeter. Is there possibility that you and other artists collaborate?

Several other artists I know, at least I know their works and I think collaboration is always a possibility. But it will be difficult in this case because you have to be on the site together. Unless you have prior experience of collaboration, it’s very hard to do it. Some artists comes from Europe others from Asia and I’m based in United States and the site is in Japan, to organize a collaboration will be no easy thing.

Also I think most artists like to retain control. That’s the one thing which is also in the nature of art that you have the myth of the artist being the creator. I don’t believe in that very much but still I behave like that. You may or may not do the work totally by yourself – but you do have 100% responsibility, so you can’t really have other people share the responsibility or have them change what you present as your work. There is this exclusive idea of responsibility you have as the author of the work.

Well, thank you very much. We are looking forward to see your work at this event. Good luck!

Thanks.

Demeter – Tokachi international modern art festival
Date: July 13th – September 23rd, 2002
Place: Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan
Tel: +81 (0)155 27 2002 (Demeter)
https://www.demeter.jp