News

20 July

"About Art: a Serial Symposium"

Cameron Robbins, Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro will participate in "About Art: a Serial Symposium" organised by the Setouchi International Art Festival Executive Committee.

July 21 (Wed) 10:30-12:00
"Art Expansion, the Outer Edge"
Venue: Gymnasium, Teshima Elementary School, Teshima.
Check the Setouchi International Art Festival 2010 website for details.

16 July

Return to Teshima Cameron Robbins

I've just returned to Teshima after being away for two-weeks. Today I spent the day seeing other works in the Setouchi Festival on the lush, jungle-covered island of Ogijima. It was a really inspiring experience and I have returned to Teshima with a renewed energy and focus. The scale of commitment shown by other artists in the Festival is very impressive. Having had my own sea and art adventure today, I feel I have gained clarity and some new ideas about bringing my own work to resolution.

I'm struck again by how beautiful it is to be here, how stunning the natural environment is, and what a privilege it is to be involved in this unique event. I'm also excited to see how the Australian artists have progressed with their work since I've been back in Australia.

I'm really enjoying being in the Setouchi Festival because everywhere I go – from Teshima, to the mainland (Takamatsu) to Ogijima – I encounter artists and artworkers from around the world. Even in the strangest, most isolated and foreign environments, I am connecting with people I feel empathy with through their involvement in the arts and the Festival. I think we all feel like we could stay here longer, that the tiny island communities are opening up to us; that future art projects are brewing; and that anything is possible.

13 July

Island living by Claire and Sean

There is always a small feeling of dread when the invitation is put out to an artist to 'work with the community'. What if the community is indifferent to the artwork you have in mind? Or they have no time for art games? Or maybe they might even be offended by your idea!

We really had no idea what the people of Teshima would be like. If you Google the name 'Teshima Island' you will probably get information on the infamous illegal toxic waste dumping that occurred on the island and the subsequent fight by the local citizens to clean up the mess made by the dumpers and the prefectural government. The first fact is alarming and the second speaks about the resilience and resourcefulness of the inhabitants.

For a little island of about 1000 souls to take on the local prefectural government gives us a clue as to how strong and motivated these guys must be. But it doesn't really tell us any more about the individual personalities of the islanders.

One thing that we heard about was the age of the islanders. We heard that the average age was about 65 years old. That's pretty high! But on our first night on the Island we met Ayota-kun he is the first baby to be born in the Kou community in 17 years! And a cute little fatty he is too. We met him and his parents who were taking a spin around the port on the night that we sailed into Teshima. He was wearing a very stylish happi coat- like a casual summer kimono. His folks were so nice; a week later they gave us a present of 2 of these outfits for our kid too!

The community that we live in- Kou is pretty small; you can walk around it in about half an hour. But that doesn't stop the locals from getting about the village riding on motor scooters. It gives the place a Mediterranean feel. The connection is not surprising, since the island is on the same latitude as Italy. This gives the island similar climatic conditions; therefore the island has the most olive trees in East Asia. Anyway, one person that has a really nice orange scooter is Uematsu-san. He is the village leader: a total get-up-and-go kind of guy. He has a head of striking white hair. He says he dyes it but we're not sure if we believe him… If anything needs to be done he will be on his mobile phone and it'll be done within the hour. For instance our hot water heater busted on a Sunday and it was fixed that afternoon. You wouldn't get that kind of service in Sydney!

We were able to meet a lot of the people of the village during the making of our work. Having used much furniture donated by the locals as part of our installation, we were hoping to finish it off with many small wooden boxes sourced from the community. With the help of a volunteer Tomoko, we went around the houses of the village to see what we could find. At first we felt like Salvation Army volunteers, going door to door. But we were able to meet a lot of interesting people. One guy almost told us his life story, about leaving the island, about his wife leaving him, about coming back to the island. Pretty raw stuff! But on asking around for small wooden boxes, most of the people we met came back to us with the same answer. “Sorry, I burnt all that stuff to heat up some water to have a bath”. We thought that we would have to find someone who was scared of fire and didn't like bathing if we were to finish this artwork. But most people also said that they would have a look around the house and see if they could find anything. And lo and behold as the days went by little boxes that used to hold rice or Kobe beef or beautiful old Bento boxes started to turn up at our door.

So with the help of the local people we were able to get the installation finished and got to meet a few characters too.

10 July

Erecting the net by Sue Pedley

Today the weather forecast was fine and dry (a rare thing during this monsoon season) and so we decided to erect the net on the naya (the storehouse). In the morning we extended the size of the net, so it would cover all sides of the naya and connect with the house net, installed the day before.

The day began with two Kou fishermen and two koebis laying the net out on the foreshore. The enormous scale of the net makes it difficult to unravel, unless working outdoors. The helpers spread the net out flat near the beach and connected the individual parts together, ready for installation.

Erecting the net was a very delicate operation, as the naya roof is quite brittle and is actually rotting away in sections. Yanagimoto-san, wearing a hardhat and sandshoes, and wielding a long stick, slowly and gently moved the net across the very fragile roof. The net has a tendency to snag on the roof tiles and protruding architecture, so the koebis worked on the ground with bamboo poles, allowing the net to clear potential obstacles. Directing each other's movements, together the koebis and Yanagimoto-san coaxed the net across the roof and connected it to the house. Following a momentary wave of panic in the morning, I was relieved to see that we had more than enough netting to cover both buildings.

To see the net fully erected was incredibly exciting. Various people from the Kou community (many of them participants in the net-making workshops) came up to visit the house and celebrate with me. I was quite emotional seeing the house finally encased in the net, and looking so beautiful. More than anything, it was a joy to see the Kou residents so proud and happy with me.

20 June

Cameron Robbins, his son and assistant Jake, and coordinator Ulanda Blair arrive in Teshima. The three Australians with the Embassy staff, are warmly greeted by the Kou community.

5 June

Sue Pedley comes back to Kou. She is moved by the efforts of the Kou local residents and koebis who have been making the net while she was in Australia.

31 March

Sue Pedley visits Teshima for the first time over two weeks. With the help of many koebi volunteers, she explored the island and learnt a lot about its history and people. This enabled her to firm up her plan of making a net using the local net making technique to cover an abandoned house in the village. She presented it at the briefing to the community with Festival General Director Mr Fram Kitagawa on 3 April.

26 February

Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro spoke at the Setouchi International Art Festival 2010 press conference held in Tokyo.

22 January

Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro with their new-born son Jonah visited Teshima where they will be creating work. They were inspired by the farming and fishing village of Kou and its beautiful land and seascape.