Field of Stars

Field of Stars is a site-specific, collaborative art project created by artists, craftsmen, and architecture students active in Japan and abroad. The project is sited on the land adjacent to the Shinmeiyama tumulus (the largest ancient burial mound on the Japan seaside), and the historic Takano Shrine founded in the second century BCE.

Part of the special exhibition ECHO, which will be held this fall in Kyotango, TOMORROW presents art projects, including this one, that bring together the talents of the next generation in art, craft, and architecture with the uniqueness of the Tango region.

It is our intention to imagine the ways architecture and art can consider the future of global environmental changes, and to rethink our current consumption of natural resources through more sustainable approaches. “Field of Stars” is a project that crosses the boundaries of contemporary art, traditional craft, and experimental architecture by using timeless local materials and techniques to create an immersive experience.

This project is a collaboration between Artist Teresita Fernández and master carpenter Shuji Nakagawa, together with a younger generation of team members, led by project manager Shunya Hashizume of TOMORROW with college interns Kohei Wakamatsu and Cypress Fernández-Downs.

Fernández’s conceptually-based work is rooted in challenging conventional definitions of landscapes by deconstructing traditional genres of landscape painting and Land art to reveal more urgent narratives. She places particular importance on her critical choices of materials that have complex histories often tied to colonialism, land, and power.

Field of Stars, developed by working closely with the intergenerational creative team, will be unveiled this fall.

Overview: ECHO, Saturday, October 7–Sunday, November 26, 2023.

Venues: Taiza Studio, Takano/Itsukinomiya Shrine, Tango Ancient Village Museum, Roadside Station Tenki Tenki Tango, Kinosaki Onsen Mikiya, SEI. 

Organizers: TOMORROW, Japan Arts Council, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. Co-organizer at Tango Ancient Village Museum: Kyotango City Board of Education. 

Supported by: Kyotango City, Kyotango City Board of Education, Kyoto by the Sea DMO, Kyoto Prefectural Government, Kyoto Tourism Federation.

Theme
ECHO stems from three themes: Artworks inspired by the history of Tango, a region that once produced cinnabar; Attempts to innovate with rich local ingredients and revive the textile industry; Art rooted in the land through collaboration with the next generation.