youki hirakawa

In the corner of total light

In the Corner of Total Light / 2024

Ancient Pottery (Approx 1800 years old), Steel Pachinko Balls

It is a way to reconnect a disconnected history. My grandfather, who returned from the battlefield,
collected discarded metal from the streets after experiencing a shortage of metal during the war.
A silver-colored shed had been built behind our house.
I was often taken by him to the parking lot of a pachinko parlor, where we would pick up discarded pachinko balls and play.
During a project research, I accidentally found and picked up a shard of pottery from the Yayoi period on the riverbank,
and that moment suddenly brought back those memories.

Pachinko balls as remnants of war memories and pottery shards that celebrate thousands of years of history—between them exists a vast gap.
The two seemingly disconnected things somehow begin to form a relationship within the shape and gravity of a vessel.
The pachinko balls are stacked along the gentle curve of the pottery, and once a certain amount is reached, they begin to spill out.
It becomes an object that exists as a temporary state of equilibrium.