One thing that’s great about Shodoshima is that it’s an island big enough to welcome large-scale art installations for the Setouchi Triennale.
This year is no different, and like he’s done every three years for quite a while now, Toshimitsu Ito has returned to Konoura, near the southernmost tip of the island, with a very original and weird giant installation.
When you’re about to arrive at the village if you get there from the main road, you’ll be welcome by this giant who’s taking a rest:
The name of the artwork is Daidaraurutorabou and I have no idea what it means. is it the name of the giant? Maybe.
It represents a giant who has built the mountains and rivers of the island and that is resting after such hard work.
The legs and hands used to be a stone wall in Konoura that had to be demolished because of the widening of a road. I haven’t checked, but I’m wondering whether it’s this stone wall:
The picture dates from 2013. It was the path right behind Sunset House, and I remember that this path was supposed to be turned into an actual street, and that probably meant removing the stone wall. I know the street exists nowadays, but I haven’t returned to the Sunset House since it closed a few years ago.
The body of the giant is made of various pieces of driftwood that have been collected all over the area.
The head was made from an abandoned boat from Itsukushima. Toshimitsu Ito is from Hiroshima and he teaches at Hiroshima City University, Faculty of Arts. His projects for the Triennale are usually made in collaboration with the university. This one is no exception.
Overall, an impressive and fun sculpture by an artist who never ceases to impress me and please me every time he comes to Shodoshima. Unfortunately, I’ve never met him.
Daidaraurutorabou is in free access during the whole Triennale 2022, I’m not exactly sure if it’ll stay afterward.
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