In an uncertain world,
opening up the future with imagination
Chikako Shakudo

Curator, Kurobe City Art Museum

Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi (hereafter: Yamashita +composed of various organisms with their own perceptions. How-

tor of Uozu Buried Forest Museum, makes clear in his contribu-

ture (2012), in which they made a sculpture with their beloved

Kobayashi) have been working mainly on video installations me-

ever, we seem to have few opportunities to be reminded of this intion to this catalogue. However, as Yamashita + Kobayashi say,dog Anne; among others.

diated by their own actions. By creating situations and present-

our daily life, or to imagine the worldview of other organisms.

natural phenomena are ambiguous and elusive in the first place.

ing their images, they question the meanings and values of theAccording to the artists, Major League Birdwatching was

In the process of making this work, we have learned thatworld. Also, by inserting their actions into a scene or landscape,an attempt to connect, or at least to look at, the 2 worlds ofthe landscape from the coast of Uozu, where a camera is set

animals and plants, and to collaborate with this nature. Each ofthey shake up the way we see and think, and make latent things

human and bird ＊2. Hanae Nakao, referring to this and otherup, to the coast of Ikuji, 8 kilometres away from Uozu coast,these attitudes is often represented in their work in an intersec-

visible. I suppose that there are some fundamental attitudes

works in which animals appear, pointed out that the artists’ view

where the sign is set up, is an “apparent landscape” that should

tional way, but not all of them hold the same type of thoughts.

involved in their work: presenting imagination and its possibili-of the world is “linked to the zen master Dogen’s teaching, called

normally be invisible due to the roundness of the earth. Our days

The artists once told me that, when devising Thinking Reed /ties, reconstructing our relationship with nature and the world,

issuishiken, which indicates that the same thing can be perceived

were tossed around by the changing atmosphere and the unsta-

Unthinking Reed (2021), they were reading An Introduction toquestioning existing systems and values, and offering alterna-differently depending on who sees it”＊3. In their other works too,

ble wavering of the image on the opposite bank, which made us

the Integral Philosophy of Humanity by Takeshi Umehara, andtives with a variety of ideas. The resulting works are both sin-

Yamashita + Kobayashi have been giving consideration to therealise that we cannot control natural phenomena. Though inthey felt more sympathy with the Japanese idea of “somoku-

cere and absurd at the same time, shaking viewers’ thoughts torelationship with the non-human natural environment throughthis work, the artists were thinking deeply about “uncertainty”.

kokudoshikkaijobutsu” (all things, even plants, trees and the land, haveboth extremes in ambivalent situations such as useful or useless,making connections to it in various approaches. There has always

In Mirage, the protagonist mutters “I feel that there are many

the nature of Buddha)＊9 written in the book than with the modern

which also encourages an expansion of inspirations and perspec-

been an attitude of suspicion towards dualism and of looking atthings outside the threshold of my consciousness, ………” ＊6 In

Western ideas ＊10. Such a view of nature, based on circulation,

tives. They provide important insights towards the social system

the world from a perspective that is not human-centric.

the closing remarks of his above-mentioned book, Uexküll also

was well expressed in I Am Everything, Everything Is Me (2015),

points out that the role of nature as an object is full of contradic-

in which various “things” are projected as images, over whichand connection to the world, relating to how we live.

In this exhibition, the artists presented a continuous series
of works which invite the viewers including the artists them-tions and chaos, and then says: “And yet all these diverse Um-

different sounds of “me” are dubbed, while being switched froma work that is not part of the exhibition, but which gives us

selves to consider the fluctuating boundaries between humanwelten are harbored and borne by the One that remains forever

one to another.

an insight to the exhibition. This work is about an attempt at

and nature.

barred to all Umwelten. Behind all the worlds created by Him,

I would like to mention Major League Birdwatching (2011),

birdwatching at Yankee Stadium in New York. Through theartists’ observation of the birds, we can see how birds come andIn a world of uncertainty

go freely, looking for food, without being involved in the excite-

As soon as you enter the exhibition room, a large screen

there lies concealed, eternally beyond the reach of knowledge,

shows Human ( ) Nature (2021), made in the mountains of

the subject—Nature.” ＊7.

Asahi-machi. 2 works were presented in 2019 from this series,

The uncertainty shown in infinity~mirage is the essence of

which uses a bicycle. In each work, the landscape flowing in thement of the game or the boundaries between the audience seats

The title of this exhibition, A mirage., comes from anature or the world, and it makes us realise that we are living inbackground and the meaning of the act of continually riding on

and the baseball ground. The world of humans and the world of

short story Mirage (in Fujin Koron magazine, March 1927) writtensuch a condition in the first place. At times, mirages or heat hazes

a bicycle, together with the words appearing on the tyres due tobirds share the same space, yet their respective consciousnesses,

by Ryunosuke Akutagawa in his final days. It is the words of a

shake the ordinary and overwrite it with the extraordinary, draw-

the after-image effect of light, are concentrated in an image towhich do not overlap, emerge in the work.

friend of the main character, murmured on the way back froming out as images of the infinite variety of phenomena that change

form artwork. In Human ( ) Nature, the artists’ direct question

seeing a mirage on Kugenuma beach. This story was composedfrom day to day. The device of the live camera proves that it isemerges in the way the meaning shifts dramatically when thein the form of a so-called “I-novel”, a genre of auto-biograph-a phenomenon of the present and confirms its curiosity. It then

8 postpositional particles in the position of parentheses areical fiction in Japanese literature. It is known that Akutagawa

expands our thoughts to both the micro and the macro world: lifechanged. In addition, the question forms an important keynotereflected the worldview of “a story without a significant story”

that keeps emerging and disappearing within a phenomenon infor the whole exhibition. The landscape in the background of thein his own work, which is how Akutagawa praised the I-novel

flux; the constant combination and separation of living and all

video moves from the upper reaches of the Sakai River, throughof Naoya Shiga, Night Fires (in Kaizo magazine, April 1920). In theother non-living matter; or the repetition of objects and subjects.

a small village rich in nature where the relationship between

course of describing familiar everyday events, the author inter-

Pascal’s words, which the artists wrote as part of their

human and nature is being reversed, and carries on further

jects incidents that sound meaningful such as a mirage, a light

work, enquire “What is a man in Infinity?” ＊8 The vastness ofdown the mountain path. The information drawn out by theof a match, a mixed-race child, and so on, but in the end, thethis question is open to the imagination of each viewer.

artists’ actions inserted into the landscape reveals traces of theregion’s history and the ongoing relationship between humanstory leaves a curious impression, as if it does not know where tofocus. Yamashita + Kobayashi also say in the text that the words

Thoughts towards Human ( ) Natureand nature. The complex interplay of what these elements show
stimulates our multifaceted thinking.

“A mirage.”＊4 perfectly expresses the “uncertainty” and holds
1000WAVES (2007), in which Yamashita + Kobayashi

On the other hand, a rather primitive relationship can becounted up to 1000 ocean waves that are ambiguous to count;found in infinity (2006), which is exhibited at the rear of Humanwa envelops the entire exhibition. In particular, it seems to have

Release of mineral water (2004), in which the artists travelled to( ) Nature. The work demonstrates whether the saying “Paths

something in common with the unceasingness of infinity~mirage

return mineral water to its source in Germany; A Spoon Madeare made by walking” is true by running on the grass for 5 days

In his book A Stroll Through the Worlds of Animals and(2021), in which the m-shaped sign installed on the embank-

From The Land (2009), in which the artists collected iron sandin one summer. The beautiful “∞” path, created with time andMen, Jakob von Uexküll referred to the various worlds that are

ment, the wavering landscape of the sea, and the mirage thatfrom a beach to make a spoon; Letting the Mountains Hear theeffort, had apparently disappeared by winter as the grass regrew.

combined by the perceptual field and motor field of each living

occurs there are shown endlessly through a live streaming video.

Voice of the Ocean (2017), in which the artists recorded sounds ofWhile influencing each other with the view of nature shown inthing as a “Umwelt”＊1. Although the world seems to be one, it is

The mirage is a natural phenomenon, as Masaki Sato, the Cura-

the sea and released it in the mountains; Anne and Anne’s Sculp-

Human ( ) Nature to the rear, infinity also finds a connection

the same impression of the atmosphere in their exhibition ＊5.
[fig.1] Major League Birdwatching, 2011, single channel video projected on a
baseball cap, stereo sound, tripod, dimensions variable, 9’30”, C-print, 40×30cm

46

In Yamashita + Kobayashi’s consideration of nature, we canidentify 3 attitudes: to observe, to act towards nature such as

47

Indeed, the rather hazy worldview of the short story of Akutaga-with infinity~mirage installed across in the exhibition space.

pocene, the dichotomy of natural sciences and humanities has

thinking, this work may help us to regain a meaningful per-stream and a section called “everyone’s ∞” where anyone can

The actions of the human changes the relationship with nature

become meaningless to today’s academia, and that the anthro-

spective. Release of mineral water was the work that inspired

share photos taken from different places. Even if “∞” appeared,

as well as the meaning and effect of the resulting phenomena.

pocentrism latent in Western thinking is being decentred, withthe artists to think about human and nature. In addition to

it is not difficult to imagine that only a few people would be able

In How to make a mountain sculpture — Japanese Moun-ideas that acknowledge both human and non-human activity atquestioning the system of capitalist society, it also suggests an

to see it through a pair of binoculars from the opposite shore.

tains “Mt.Tsurugi” (2013), Yamashita + Kobayashi present their

their heart ＊16. This bird’s-eye view of the trends in academic dis-

awareness of ecology and de-growth, and encourages the imag-

The format of this work — a work of art that can be equally en-

gaze on nature. This is part of a series of works they have been

ciplines also illuminates the standpoint of Yamashita + Kobayas-

ination to think towards alternative ways. It seems to be a goodjoyed through a live streaming video by people, including thosemaking since 2006 in places including Switzerland. Their shock

hi. In the same way that anthropology has been transformed into

example of the trend of Yamashita + Kobayashi’s work that can

who are unable to travel due to the pandemic situation as welltowards the events of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami,

a discipline that speaks of human beings from a place beyond

still be seen today.

as those who live in the neighbouring areas of Kurobe — madewhich showed how the earth could change its shape, has given

the human, what underpins Yamashita + Kobayashi’s efforts

In Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, the book I was

further meaning to the use of the traditional technique of ob-

to relate as much as possible to certain objects in the natural

introduced to by Yamashita + Kobayashi, Dawkins says: (…) evenm-shaped sign, which are site-specific spaces of “here and now”.

serving and recording nature. The artists’ direct act of sculpting

world, such as in infinity~mirage, is very much in line with theif we look on the dark side and assume that individual man is

It was a very thoughtful work that allowed us to care and sharein the midst of nature becomes absurd through its sincerity, andidea of wanting to stand on the contours of “human”, shaped byfundamentally selfish, our conscious foresight —our capacityeach other’s “here and now” under the pandemic.

the contrast between the scale of human and nature leads tomemory, experience and practice through their work ＊17. Think-to simulate the future in imagination— could save us from the

I must admit that the fact that “∞” has appeared, something

thinking about the fundamental structure of the world.

ing about the fluctuating boundaries between human and nature

worst selfish excesses of the blind replicators ＊22. Various organ-

which everyone had been half in doubt about since the beginningand questioning the nature of the human contour line may haveisms are actually selfish, even when their actions appear to beof the plan, still makes us believe in infinite possibilities in thisthe same meaning.

altruistic. Humans are no exception. However, one possibility has

uncertain world. And yet, we must not forget that it is an image

been suggested. The way to resist the selfish gene is imagination.

given to us in collaboration with nature. The realisation of “∞”Exhibited in the next small room with natural light is
Thinking Reed / Unthinking Reed, questioning also the very actof thinking by the viewers. Against the background of the reed
landscape outside the window, there are 2 reeds swaying in the

Imagination towards the future

in infinity~mirage is a relative one, the result of the efforts ofmonitor. The sounds of insects, a river and cars driving nearby
The early works of Yamashita + Kobayashi, such as infinity

The title of this work also makes reference to the idea of man as

and 1000WAVES, show the influence of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital ＊18

a thinking reed ＊12 in Pensées. Pascal points out that a human isand still provide meaningful thoughts today.

as weak as a reed, and yet their dignity lies in their thinking. But

Release of mineral water is a work in which the artists

Pascal also indicates how foolish these thoughts are, at the same

travel to Germany to return the commercial German mineraltime ＊13. Throughout history, there have been great ideas thatwater sold in Japan. The work was triggered by feeling discom-

have been referred to repeatedly, but there have also been great

fort about the fact that water is being sold. This simple sense ofregrets even though they have been the result of hard think-

discomfort is something that should be shared more and more in

ing. Here, a meta-perspective is introduced on thinking about

the future.

human and nature.
This work is viewed by replacing the reed with a person,referring to Marx’s ideas, how the capitalist system has turned
the common good, the wealth that was free and abundant for

instance, what does it mean for a plant to “think”? In How For-everyone to use, into a scarce “value”. He pointed out the harms

ests Think, Eduardo Kohn, a scholar in anthropology, extends

and dangers of the way in which water, once a free common

thought, from a semiotic point of view, not only to humans but

good, has been managed and has itself become capital ＊19. He

to all sorts of life. He says that, the same as human, animals andargues that the wealth that is privatised through the disman-plants are also involved in the process of creating new semiotics

tling of common goods increases in value as a commodity due toin response to the meaning and effect of semiotics, and that this

its increasing scarcity, and that people lose the opportunity tois where thoughts lie ＊14. Perhaps the image of the 2 reeds is un-

access the wealth they need to live and become impoverished,derpinned by such ambivalent and common thoughts of humans

which, as a result, makes them even poorer ＊20.
According to a report by the Japanese Ministry of Economy,

In addition, the importance of this engagement being

Trade and Industry, the global water business was predicted tomediated by “representational” relations beyond language is

be worth 110 trillion Japanese yen by 2030 ＊21. In the face of min-stressederal water, the modest question of whether water is something＊15. The effort to exchange images through actions, bothwith non-human beings and with the viewers, has been also
practiced in the work of Yamashita + Kobayashi.
Anthropologist Katsumi Okuno explains that in the Anthro-49

to be bought is likely to be drowned out by this momentum.
However, at a time when we are under pressure to change
everything from our social systems to our individual ways ofhumans to go to the edge of the relationship, half of which isonly exhibited in the museum, but the concept was also pre-brought by natural phenomena. It is necessary to have the atti-

sented through a flyer. On a special website, there is a live video

tude of looking back at it carefully.

＊1＊2

In “Das Kapital” in Anthropocene, Kohei Saito explains,but it is not necessarily the only way to look at the work. For

and non-humans.

48

Now let us go back to infinity~mirage. This work was not

are blended together to create something pleasant to the ears.

a counterpart to the exhibition in the Museum and outdoor

＊3

＊4
＊5

＊6
＊7
＊8
＊9

| Jakob von Uexküll “A Stroll Through the Worlds of Animals andMen: A Picture Book of Invisible Worlds,” in Instinctive Behavior:
The Development of a Modern Concept, trans. and ed. by Claire H.
Schiller（New York: International Universities Press, Inc., 1957）.
| From Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi website, accessed 1
October 2021. http://www.yamashita-kobayashi.com/ja/works/
major-league-birdwatching.html| Hanae Nakao “Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi: Facing to art as
one of the pair living on earth,” in Mai Yamashita + Naoto
Kobayashi: Notebooks and from the Notebooks exhibition
catalogue（Tochigi: Kurumaya Museum of Art, Oyama City, 2015）p.65.
| Ryunosuke Akutagawa “Mirage,” in Konan no Ogi（A Fan from Hunan）（Tokyo: Bungeishunju, 1939）p.228.
| Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi, interview by Ikuko Yoshimotoand the author, 24 September 2021. http://mirage.yamashitakobayashi.com/interview/| Ref. 4, p.233.
| Ref. 1, p.80.
| Blaise Pascal, A Selection from Pascal’s Thoughts, trans. by H. L.
Sidney Lear（London: Rivingtons, 1878）p.126.
| Takeshi Umehara, An Introduction to the Integral Philosophy of
Humanity（Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2013）. In this book, Umehara
identifies the origin of Japanese culture in a Buddhist thought
called “tendaihongakushiso”, which is based on the idea
“somokukokudoshikkaijobutsu”（all things, even plants, trees and theland, have the nature of Buddha）. Umehara also considers this idea tobe common to all primitive cultures of the world, and advocates it
as something that overcomes modern Western ideas.

＊10 |Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi, from email correspondence withthe author, 9 August 2021.
＊11 | Every 20 seconds the words change in the order of: “Human andnature”, “Human among nature”, “Human or nature”, “Human isnature”, “Nature for human”, “Human as nature”, “Human’s nature”
and “Human versus nature”.
＊12 | Ref. 8, p.143.
＊13 | Ref. 8, pp.142–144.
＊14 | Eduardo Kohn, How Forests Think: Toward an Anthropology
Beyond the Human（Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California
Press, 2013）chap.1 and 2, pp.27–100.
＊15 | Ibid.
＊16 | Katsumi Okuno “Bright Anthropocene, Dark Anthropocene: Viewing
from Multi-Species Ethnography（1）,”in Gendai Shiso magazine, December issue,
vol.45–221, 2017, p.78.
＊17 | Ref. 5.
＊18 | Ref. 5.
＊19 | Kohei Saito “Das Kapital” in Anthropocene（Tokyo: Shueisha, 2020）
p.248-249.
＊20 | Ibid, chap. 6, pp.234–276.
＊21 | “Review of 10 years of overseas water business policy and research
report on the direction of future development,” in Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry website, March 2021, accessed 1
October 2021. https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/
mono/waterbiz/kenkyukai/kaigai_infra/003_business.html＊22 | Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, 30th anniversary edition（New York: Oxford University Press, 2006）p.200.