MASANORI MATSUDA

INFO WORKS
On the far west coast in Ireland - the Connemara region - I came across a record that documents all the locals whom have died in the past 18 years. Such record is called the ‘death notice’, which is being preserved and archived by the Connemara radio station. I asked a 15-year-old boy, whom was born and raised in Connemara, to read a name from the death notice from each of the month in the past 15 years. Later on, I invited the 15-year-old boy’s mother to the local radio station, playing to her the names her son read through the radio broadcasting system. For the mother, I asked her to repeat each of those names after her son’s recording. Throughout this particular recording session with the mother, she kept on listening to the names her son read out, then repeating after him, such listening and repetitive vocalization went on for awhile. While shooting the video of the son while he was reading under the precious sunlight in the winter, it was as if the boy 's body has gone through the spectacular natural wilderness of Connemara. I can’t help wondering, if the deceased, whom were being called out by their names adjoining the Connemara setting, would somehow recall their old days once more?
アイルランドの西海岸、コネマラ地方で、過去20年間に亡くなった地元の人たちの記録を見つけました。
この記録は「Death notice」と呼ばれ、広大な自然に囲まれる荒野の中のコネマラ・ラジオ局によって保存・保管されている。 私はこのコネマラで出会った少年の母親をラジオ局に招き、過去17年間の各月の「死亡通知」から名前を選び読んでもらいました。そしてコネマラで生まれた15歳の少年に、母親が読んだ名前をラジオ放送のように聞かせました。息子は母親の声の後にその名前を繰り返す。 冬至近く太陽の復活を待つ季節、天気の移り変わりの激しいアイルランドを象徴するような日、太陽の光を見続ける少年の顔は消えそして現れる。少年の体はこの厳しい大地と風となった亡くなって行った彼らの一部かもしれない。映像の導入は、コネマラの近くで行なわれた1人の葬式の後に、その集まった人達が目の前の海と山に挟まれた墓に向かっていく様子で始まる。
© 2023 MASANORI MATSUDA