Again…

Don’t be confused by the title of this post. Again… is the name of this sculpture made by Korean artist Kim Kyoung-Min in 2019 for the Setouchi Triennale.

It can be found in Tonosho Port, on Shodoshima. I think it’s a fine piece of public art, unfortunately, it suffers from its location. Whose idea was it to put it at the very end of the port, behind the parking lot, in an area where almost nobody goes, exactly?

I’m not against the idea of putting artworks in places that are difficult to access (more on that in an upcoming post), but the location needs to make sense. Here, I don’t think it does. It’s a port, the art is an hommage to Shodoshima, it should be in a location that’s where people go on a regular basis. Oh well.

You may be wondering why I say that it’s an hommage to Shodoshima. Well, at first sight, it pretty much looks like a piece of abstract art. If you think that, it means that you didn’t look close enough. The “melted” part of the sculpture is actually a map of the island.

So, next time you’re in Tonosho Port, please, make a small detour to go see Again. It may not be the most mind-blowing artwork you’ll see, but it’s more interesting than many people think.