Welcome to Amabiki 2008


photograph SAITO Sadamu

People who come to the exhibition often ask me "Amabiki happens once in two years, right?" It takes strength to carry on. The kind understanding of the community, and of the people who come time and again to touch the works, is a great encouragement. But that question makes me feel a little uneasy, and I say "well, there's no rule that says it has to be that way", and start into a long-winded explanation, saying things like "All the artists work on it voluntarily. The Amabiki Village and Sculpture Executive Committee which stages the event is not made up of public agencies and planners, it's an autonomous gathering of all the exhibitors taking individual responsibility. The executive committee forms for each exhibition and dissolves after it. The will to stage the event comes from the participating artists who make up the committee, and they run everything that involves work and decisions".
It might be better to describe Amabiki 2008 as the seventh time the exhibition happens, rather than the seventh regular instance. It is normal for anything to lose its initial ideals and become a hollow shell if it is repeated enough times, but now, after more than ten years, I feel that every single Amabiki Village and Sculpture event is linked along the single path of creating works and believing in art. The participants always have the perception that this time will happen because last time did. The more sincere their attitude as creators, the more likely they are to notice important little details that could get overlooked or dropped, and pick them up carefully. They reflect those things in their next new works and present them as an exhibition.
This time, the exhibition is one element in the "23rd National Cultural Festival - Ibaraki 2008". Once, we firmly refused to participate. That was based on our view that becoming one part of a government project would damage the independence of the event. It took several months of debate before we finally decided to participate. Our conclusion was partly a response to a request from nearby Sakuragawa City, which has cooperated with us for many years. The decision shows our confidence that "Amabiki Village and Sculpture" could find a way to make a small impression. Of course, we were well aware, in reaching our decision, that we should not stick egotistically to any one course.

November 9th, 2008
Amabiki Village and Sculpture, Executive Committee
INOUE Masayuki