Social Art Project

You and I (Nawa) Ogishima Pillar

Environmental Power Through Uniting People & The Community

Height: 7m Size: 90cm~30cm, 2m

Material: Boro old clothes (rags), dried wild grasses, herbs, sawdust, pebbles and large basalt stones from the hillsides of Ogishima
Artist

Mariyo Yagi & The Nawa Vital Links Team (A total of 500 Citizens --from small children to the elderly*who reside in areas around the Seto Inland Sea)
Concept: Uniting Nature, the Human Spirit and Community

For the Ogishima Nawa Vital Link project, people from the surrounding area collected materials from the nearby hillsides and fields. Each phase of the 'art work' is an essential strand that binds the Setouchi island community, the object made, and the environment together into a unifying creative experience. As the number of residents on the small islands that dot the Seto Inland Sea dwindles, and each island becomes more and more isolated, the You and I (Nawa) Ogishima Pillar symbolizes the essential strands that bind these island communities together. One strand is weak, but with two or more, the rope becomes stronger. The same is true in our social life, with each contributing to the vitality of the greater whole.

Profile : Mariyo Yagi www.mariyoyagi.net

Mariyo Yagi was born in Kobe, From 1973~1976 Mariyo served as Isamu Noguchi's assistant, working with him in his studios in Japan and Italy. From 1980 until the present she has created artscapes domestically and internationally that incorporate elements of plazas, gardens, playgrounds, landscapes, fountains and massive earthworks, transforming communities by reshaping their environments and their shared sense of place. To facilitate the construction of these massive projects, Mariyo became the first Japanese sculptor to become a licensed civil engineer and contractor.

In searching for something that would unite nature, the human spirit and technique, Mariyo discovered the nawa. In Japan, nawa is ritually used to set apart a space or object and signify its sacredness, but it is also a metaphor for all realms of life. Its spiral form symbolizes interconnectedness. In ancient Japanese, na means *you* and wa means *I.* *Nawa* thus signifies our own creative interaction, our oneness from diversity. Her Nawa Vital Link sculptures that she has created around the globe are highly collaborative efforts that always involve the participation of the local community.
Location: Kawashima Takeshi & Dream Friends

Yabugami's patio, Ogijima Island Takamatsu Kagawa, Japan

Production Period: May 5th - July 18th, 2010

Installation Period: July 19th - October 31st, 2010 During the term of Setouchi International Art Festival

Fire Ceremony "You & I [NAWA] Pillar": October 31st, 2010 at twilight @Port of Ogijima.