Stroll: 2021 Laboratory of Forest Art

Hi, there. Long time, no see. How are you?

The strangest (probably) Olympics and Paralympics to date are over. And Naomi’s back to Yokohama’s forest! I may have a chance in due time to tell you my experience with Olympians and Paralympians for Tokyo 2020. But today is for my annual adventure with the art show by Laboratory of Forest Art. Actually they have opened their door on 19 September for 2021. Then, there is an artist, Takata Yoshiki, who joined the show for the first time this year. He may have miscalculated the time necessary to complete his work, and during the middle of September he said to the visitors, “I hope I can present my work in early October.” So, I waited and found his installation in the forest just last weekend. He’s kept his promise, you know. This post is for my impression about the complete version of 2021 Laboratory of Forest Art by Group the Creation and Voice of the Woods.

The forest of the Group is as always next to Yokohama Zoorasia. Since there is no parking, a recommended access to the show is by bus. The most convenient transportation is a bus ride to Yokohama Zoorasia, from JR Nakayama 中山 Station, Sotetsu Tsurugamine 鶴ヶ峰 Station, or Sotetsu Mitsukyo 三ツ境 Station. (Timetables are here.) Get off the bus at Yokohama Zoorasia and proceed further along for about 400m to the direction of #2 Parking of the Zoo. On your right, there will be a small gate with the sign GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods. If you visit the place during weekends, many buses will take us to the North Gate of Zoorasia that is the closest to the art exhibition entrance. When you leave the terminal stop of Zoorasia North Gate, go back a bit along the bus road, and on your left is the sign for the GROUP. From there enter the forest. The road is a relatively wide walking promenade. Soon you can see a big banner over there saying “the Creation and Voice of the Woods 創造と森の声.” For 2021 show, the artists presented bonus installations from their entrance from Zoorasia side. Or, you can come to the venue from Hikarigaoka Housing Complex, and leave the forest from Zoorasia after enjoying the promenade installations.

Zoorasia side signpost for their forest

One of the installations along the forest road.

Forest dragon leads us to the entrance of 2021 show.

The installations we can enjoy this year are in this map.

Each artwork has English manifestation presented by the artists themselves. You can find it on site, or in their Homepage. Anyway, here is the impression I’ve received from their show this year.

Installation #1: Yamamoto Mayo, “Amulet Membrane”

I think her installation is practically wonderful to protect trees from oak tree wilt. She wrapped trunks of oaks with transparent curing sheet, put colors with tapes, and hang mesh bags of bark as “amulet.” The result is a vivacious scenery to deal with ferocious infectious diseases ravaging Japanese broadleaved forests. Hey, it’s better to create something of a fun when we have to live with the pandemic, isn’t it?

Installation #2: Kanai Toshikazu, “A fallen trees garden, One year later”

You should hang around the space the artist designated as his installation, in order to figure out what’s “One year later.” Honestly I found this search quite a fun.

Installation #3: ASADA, “Forest Dragon”

And here is ASADA’s dragon. Her work expands freely in a forest space. This presentation is something new as her installations in previous shows are often a symbolic recreation of enclosed domestic life … Her dragon evolves in front of our eyes if we walk around it. Magical.

Installation #4: Takata Yoshiki, “The Intrude?”

And here is Takata’s installation in the forest … Hmmmmmm, the object may indicate why he had to struggle with the environment and go beyond the deadline …

Installation #5: Chikada Haruna, “Forest of B”

This forest of the Group is often used by survival gamers for their fun shooting. The activity itself is prohibited by the City Ordinance. The gamers stomp the vegetation and scatter their pellet, which will quickly contaminate the ground as microplastic. The artists-keepers of the place think the gamers unpleasant. Yet, Chikada took “advantage” of intruders’ droppings to create her artwork. Please go there and find out how you feel when you work around the environment of her work. 😆

Installation #2 Redux: Kanai Toshikazu, “Voyage on a decaying boat”

Maybe, his intention is not the current installation, but the process of change his artwork will embark after the show. Let us visit the place year-around to witness how it will be.

Installation #6: Ishikuro Kazuo, “A Helper, Toh-Ningen (Tower Human)

It’s something an expression of anger by Ishikuro about COVID. Er, well …

Installation #7: Kobayashi Naoko, “Waking up quietly, 2020-2021”

If you think you need human voice or something to be non-quiet, her installation is surely in “quietly” category. But I found it is very lively chatters of forest plants when I walked around the installation and observed typical undergrowth of Yokohama’s forest. How do you think?

Installation #1 Redux: Yamamoto Mayo, “Amulet Membrane”

And when we stroll in the forest to this point, we notice there are several yellow something situated on the trees, large and small, here and there. They are also “amulets” by Yamamoto. To enjoy them, we must look around the trees from different angle. I tell you, it’s a fun!

Installation #8: Harada Akatsuki, “Communication of Trees”

Presenting tree-like objects in a forest is a continuous theme of Harada. This year, his trees are connected by Lines … it may be because of COVID … Can we be closer when we’re recommended to keep distance each other?

Installation #9: Yoshikawa Youichiro, “Ownerless Garden 2021”

Since 2016, Yoshikawa’s installation is to be left alone for its slow evolution. This year, he’s creating circle border by Lily turf and Dwarf Lilyturf … er, well, his effort has started to be swallowed by the forest itself, it seems to me. It must be a part of his “intention,” or forest’s will?

Installation #10: Oka Noriaki, “Forest Circus”

Oka prepared a stage for all the sounds, color, wind, rainwater, etc. of the forest. It’s a small stage perhaps for Lilliputs. We can walk around his installation, and imagine how the wind of forest presents her/his performance there …

Strolling to find artworks, I suddenly noticed walking around the art installation is really liberating. Unlike in art museums, here we can go to the back of installation, touch the work, or see them from the ground level of weeds. The artists’ creation is not in a white-walled empty space, but in Yokohama’s forest. The amount of info we receive in this way would be far larger than we obtain from a standard art exhibition. The wealth of stimuli reaching to our 5 senses is definitely rich, and so relaxing. With Forest Labo, it’s a nice change to leave from claustrophobic life with COVID … Let’s go to forests, guys.

If you find a problem in the site introduced in this post, the best contact address will be GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods.

https://morilab.amebaownd.com/

e-mail: morinokoe7@yahoo.co.jp


The city office which is in charge of this forest is

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North 北部公園緑地事務所

Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau 横浜市環境創造局

Phone: 045-311-2016

FAX: 045-316-8420