松田壯統
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Cracked mirror 85 x 85 cm
Sengu is a holy ceremony for transferring the altar chamber to an identical yet newly furnished partition inside of Ise Jingu Shirine, where is in Ise City, Mie Prefecture. Ise Jingu Shirine is the holiest and most respected shine in Japan. Sengu has been held in a 20-year cycle for the past 1300 years.
In 2013, Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto, which is one of the branches of Ise Jingu Shrine, celebrated Sengu for its holiness.
In Japan, circular mirrors inside of shrines are symbolic objects for the worship of god. Circular mirror that is housed in a shinto (a.k.a. kami-no-michi) shrine is believed to contain the spirit of deity. In Japanese custom and culture, circle has always been the symbolic shape that represents the holy spirit and the sun.
Through breaking a circle-shape mirror, I aim to correspond to the traditional Japanese ritual, which is to break down/through circular objects/patterns in the New Year for the revitalization of internal energy, and for a fresh start.
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Installation process
Numbered cracked mirror
Size varied, each within 1 x 3 cm
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Installation process
Numbered cracked mirror's sketches on Japanese paper
85 x 85 cm
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Installation view
Cracked mirror labelled with dates
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Installation view
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Installation view
Next Ise Jingu Shrine's Sengu is 7305 days (i.e. 20 years) away.
By breaking the circular mirror, coincidentally, I have approximately 700 pieces of mirror fragments.
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Installation view
11 coins from Ise Shrine, 1 replicated coins in glass
11 Ise Jingu Shrine's coins were put on display with a replicated piece that was made with glass. This portion corresponded to the following 7305 days, which would profile the steps to be taken for rebuilding.
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Installation view
cracked mirror, fallen leaf found in Kitano Tenmangu Shrine that were being cut into the shape of the crakced mirror
This is, merely, a symbolic gesuture for marking the very first step of the rebuilding processing.
The gesture of prayer for 20 years, 2013
Installation view
500 x 500 cm
9 - 9
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