Two years have passed since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake of January 1, 2024.
As the process of recovery continues, this exhibition asks what artists are thinking and how they are acting today, together with those who continue to live and work in Noto while holding the region in their thoughts.
The exhibition brings together eleven artists: ten based in Ishikawa Prefecture and one originally from Ishikawa. It is structured around five key concepts—“Sprouting,” “Layering,” “Changing,” “Praying,” and “Walking.” Through these themes, the exhibition traces the thoughts and creative processes that have emerged in the time following the disaster.
Noto and artists – Artists Thinking and Acting with Noto
Dates : March 7 (Sat) – April 2 (Thu), 2026
Venue : Sogo Museum of Art (Yokohama)
In the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, my installation Corridor of Memories, presented at the Oku-Noto Triennale, collapsed. The staircase constructed from seven tons of salt was reduced to rubble.
Standing before the destroyed work, I felt it was not simply a matter of deciding whether to restore it or leave it as it was. I began to consider what form might remain close to the time of those who continue to live in Noto.
From this reflection, I initiated the workshop project Fragments of Memory. Salt from the original installation is sealed in resin, and participants create small accessories with their own hands, taking home a small light—an attempt to regenerate what was lost in another form. During the exhibition period, workshops have also been held in Ishikawa, where small fragments containing personal memories have been created.
The labyrinth and spiral forms presented in this exhibition have long symbolized regeneration and cycles in cultures around the world. Spirals can be found in Jōmon pottery and evoke natural cycles and vitality.
Layers of Time, a new series begun after the earthquake, was inspired by uplifted coastlines, with lines built up in multiple strata.
In addition, with the cooperation of the “Kawara Bank,” works incorporating Noto roof tiles salvaged from collapsed houses are also included in the exhibition.
From within collapse, to draw the path once again—this intention lies at the center of my presentation in this exhibition.
“Monochrome – Corridor of Memories” / Noto roof tile, acrylic paint / 2025
