We Are All Kids: 2025 Laboratory of Forest Art

 

2025 Laboratory of Forest Art started last Sunday, September 28. This annual art exhibition in Yokohama’s forest is, as usual, under the care of the GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods. 2025 show until October 26 has a theme: Forest, Art, Children. From this year, the GROUP receives funding from Asahi Ward of the City. Their patron gave them this subject. The artists have fulfilled the request joyfully. Each caption for installation has two panels. One is written with Chinese character, i.e. for adults. Another is written only with Hiragana è for kids. You can choose whichever caption you like. Now, let’s play with the art in their forest! 😊

Map for this year’s show

1. Let’s be a Tower Man! 

ISHIKURO Kazuo

“This year, I made a face-cutout towerman. Please be a Tower Man!” 

The trick of the installation should be easier to understand when you see the below photos.

You step up the ladder, put your head inside the towerman, and take a photo. Voila! You’re tower man! … Of course I did it, and my photo looks like a goblin, or ghost at best, of the forest. Creepy ... A kid before me was cuter. Anyway, please try.

Ishikuro prepares wooden horizontal bar next to the Tower Man. It is low enough for 6-year-old to mimic the Towerman-Sloth above the bar.

2. The Garden with Forest Ship
KANAI Toshikazu

“In this forest it is recommended to thin bamboo leaf oaks in order to let sunlight reach the ground and stimulate the undergrowth. By doing this, biodiversity of the place is promoted. Yes, just cutting down one oak, the dim area gets out to an open space with light. It’s fun after such forestry to meet with new environment and enjoy different vista of the forest. This year, we cut down 8 oaks for creating a space for the ship. Some are straight trees. The others are crooked. All in all, they are tough nuts to crack. One sure thing: improved ventilation. The forest wind has started to fit my body. The place is becoming my garden.”

3. Recycling – Plastic (2024)
CHIKADA Haruna

4. Recycling – Forest (2024)
CHIKADA Haruna

5. When you see a forest, The forest is seeing you
CHIKADA Haruna

“BB bullets were aimed at something. They are scattered all over the forest. What was the original target for them? Did the shooters achieve their wish by discharging them?”

Thinking BB bullet garbage in the forest is a continuous theme for Chikada. This time, she let the kids to think about the microplastic contamination and displayed mirror-like mobile installation that can reflect the forest and human with BB bullet. She said “Yeah, some ‘well-thought’ survival gamers use biodegradable BB bullets. They are VERY expensive and take at least 10 years to be decomposed. Meanwhile, we don’t know what kind of impact the bullets give to the environment. What does the forest think while letting those gamers stamping its ground, I wonder.”

6. Snake Garden (2024)
KANAI Toshikazu

7. In the Cockpit
ASADA

“Please check this QR code for the beginning of this installation.

When everybody thought each of us were a captain of Spaceship Earth, it would be difficult to be irresponsible. We should try seriously to navigate the ship better!”

8. Circling scenery
YOSHIKAWA Youichiro

“Please grab the bar and push to walk round slowly whichever direction as much as you like. What sound you hear? What smell you find? Which colour your eyes recognize? How do your soles touch the ground? You are in the Garden of Monkeygrass. How do your five senses feel the forest?”

9. Garden of Monkeygrass without Owner (2024)
YOSHIKAWA Youichiro

He’s really tending this “garden” for years already. Dwarf lilyturfs are getting larger. Meanwhile I found anticlockwise circling was for me with 2025 installation. The ground was still soft. If many people played with this year’s installation, Yoshikawa-san said the ground would be harder. Let us see.

10. Not without a Trace
KIGA Youko

“Here is a groove between planted trees. Was it a stream? If I can make it sure, I’m very happy.”

11. Dust or Gem (2024)
KIGA Youko

“In some rural communities of Japan, there is a custom called ‘Torikugurazu.’ There, people hang objects of spell at the entrance of their village. They hope it would ward off the evil and welcome good luck to their community. Now in the 21st century, the border is sometimes garnished by high concrete walls that can shut off the vista completely, or with barbed wires that must hurt anybody approaching. I guess no evil or good fortune would come to such boorish and artificial objects.”

12. Bond (Wood connect: 2024)
HARADA Akatsuki

13. Let’s make trees
HARADA Akatsuki

“Adults were kids before. Kids will be adults. Many dreams before. I was curious. I had the things I loved. I had the things I hated. I had the things I wanted to do. You are growing little by little while experience many things and learn a lot. Let’s make growing trees like you. You put in branches in holes of logs, will you?”

The idea of this installation is, you write down whatever dream or wish you have on a waterproof “leaf” the artists prepared on a branch with

these permanent markers in a tapper ware and insert the branch to a log with lots of holes. The sizes of the holes are different. Trial and error are what the artists intended. At the end of the exhibition, he hopes there are several trees with many wishes. Next to this installation, Harada-san prepared

which he called “a bridge made of logs harvested from thinning (due to oak tree wilt). They are stabilized by clamps, i.e., bond.” The bridge is also an installation fun to walk above. If you try them with kids, please hold their hand firmly and support s/he at the side.

In addition to the installations on the map, the staff of the GROUP also presented their own works.

Prayer Wheel by ISHIYAMA Katsuyuki.
Please spin them and pray for …

In the Pergola by ISHIYAMA Katsuyuki and
his students in a facility for handicapped people.

Route Art 2025 by ZAMA Kimihito,
ARAI Maki, and INO Ryoko.

They are showing the direction to the venue
from Satoyama Garden 2025 Fall.

The Group holds Weekend Marche till October 13. They sell second hand goods and small objects created by the artists. The money raised this way will fund their art creation. Participation by shopping is welcome.

Also, the Group plans several events during the exhibition. Some are held in Satoyama Garden Venue. For detail, please check here.

In the open space at the entrance there is a small stage,
 and musical instruments hand-made of bamboos are provided.
You can play with them.

On that stage there was a free-jazz concert
for the opening party featuring
SHODA Jiro and Friends.

2025 the Laboratory of Forest Art is held during September 28 – October 26 in the same forest of the previous years. Since there is no parking, a recommended access to the Forest 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. Get off the bus at the North Gate of Zoorasia that is the closest to the art exhibition entrance. (Access to Zoorasia North Gate can be referred from here.) 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.”

When 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

Zoo Division
動物園課
Yokohama Municipal Government Green Environment Bureau
横浜市みどり創造局

Phone: 045-671-4124
FAX：045-550-4650
email: mk-satoyama-garden@city.yokohama.jp