Special Interview：Motoi Yamamoto/Artist

Labyrinth
Solo Show: “Return to the Sea”
Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston　2012
© Motoi Yamamoto

Famiee (https://www.famiee.com/), a general incorporated association, will start the "NFT Art Charity Auction" (https://charity.famiee.com/) in January 2022, aiming for a more sustainable and sympathetic operation from many people. We will start "NFT Art Charity Auction" in January 2022.

The work of Motoi Yamamoto was offered as the first phase of the project.
To commemorate this occasion, we had an interview with Mr. Yamamoto and asked him the reason why he started to create works using salt and the episode of the work he provided, "Floating Garden".

Mr.Yamamoto also discussed his thoughts on the project with Famiee's president, Mr. Uchiyama.

Artist：Motoi Yamamoto
Photo: Toshiyo Suzuki

Interviewer：
Mr. Yamamoto, why do you use “salt" in your work?
You are also working on the "Return to the Sea Project," in which you return the salt used in your works to the sea together with people who share your feelings about the works. Could you tell me about this as well?

Yamamoto：
The reason I started using salt was because of my younger sister, who passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 24. I was trying to digest the fact that she had passed away, and wondered how I could overcome it. That's when I got the idea to make a work on the theme of funerals and to use salt for purification.

The reason for returning the salt to the sea was that I felt that I was borrowing a little salt from the earth, and I wanted to return it to nature if I could.

In addition to that, an event happened.

When I had an exhibition in Charleston, SC, the staff of the museum used a mop to draw "Thank you, Mr. Yamamoto". I got goosebumps when I saw it in the newspaper.

I thought I had been making art for myself, but I realized that even the last moment of an activity that I was doing for myself can bring joy and awareness to many people! I discovered that "even the last moment of an activity that I want to do for myself can bring joy and awareness to many people!"

Interviewer：
In 2020, I went to the last day of an exhibition at a gallery in Ginza to see Mr. Yamamoto’s installation work, in which he drew spiral patterns with salt.

Yamamoto：
Everyone broke the pieces together and collected the salt by hand, and took it home. In this project, the salt is to be returned to the sea at a time of your choice.

Interviewer：
My daughter, son, and I went to Amanohashidate without any plans and sprinkle salt from there. This video of me sprinkling salt was taken and edited by my son. It was a lot of fun.

It's been a really long time since the three of us traveled together, and there was a possibility that we may not be able to do so again.
So I felt a sense of “reincarnation" or connection.
I guess this whole experience is a spectacular installation and art created by Mr. Yamamoto.

About the work “Floating Garden”

Floating Garden
Solo Show: “Return to the Sea”
Shaw Gallery, State Waber Univ., Utah, USA　2014
© Motoi Yamamoto　

Yamamoto：
There is also a meaning behind the "whirlpool" motif in this work. The whirlpool is often used in East Asia as a symbol of "life, death, and rebirth."
I believe that the whirlpool came to mean "rebirth" because the shape of the whirlpool looks like it is moving from outside to inside and from inside to outside.
It was also around that time that I started to create new works with the motif of "whirlpools," and this time's work "Floating Garden" is part of that series.

In this work, titled “Floating Garden," I depict each tiny bubble-like shape as a "memory of a loved one."

For example, "When I was in elementary school, I ate my sister's pudding that she hid in the refrigerator without permission," or other minor everyday events that don't need to be called "memories" are spiraled together in this work.

The main motif is the whirlpools of the Naruto Strait, which I went to research many times.

Comments on this project - "The Shape of a Family Decided by Ourselves”

Interviewer：
So, Mr. Uchiyama, could you tell us again about what you hope to achieve with Famiee through this NFT charity project?

Uchiyama：
In my personal experience, I have always felt constrained by the "legal family" and the so-called "family image" of a father, mother, and the children born from them.

Later, when I learned about a close friend of mine who was facing the issue of LGBTQ couples not being able to marry, I became so angry and asked, “Why? Even if they fall in love with each other so much?

From that point, I kept thinking, "We need to update the concept of the family," and I launched Famiee with the mission of "realizing a society where diverse family forms are accepted."

Famiee has been issuing same-sex partnership certificates since 2021, but we also feel that it is necessary to create certificates and opportunities to meet more diverse needs.

Until recently, we have relied on corporate and individual donations to fund our operations, but we have been searching for a more sustainable way to operate.

We have decided to hold the "NFT Art Charity Auction" as a way to give back to donors in the form of "NFT Art" and to make the world more aware of art and people active in various fields.

Decide how to die and what kind of family you want to have.

Labyrinth
“AIR Onomichi 2007 ”
Onimichi, Japan　2007
© Motoi Yamamoto

Interviewer：
Mr. Yamamoto kindly agreed to participate right away, didn't you?

Yamamoto：
I realized that the phrase "we decide the form of family by ourselves" really impressed me.

This is because at the ground of my work, I have a strong desire to "decide by ourselves how to die" and "decide how the final days of our loved ones and family members should be.”

Before my sister passed away, she wanted to die in her own room, but in 1994, the nursing care insurance system was not yet in place, so it was very difficult. Somehow, with the help of the hospital, relatives and friends, I was able to take care of her at home.

Actually, my wife also passed away five years ago and I took care of her at home, but everything was different from the time of my sister. In other words, it was the "system" and "institutions" that were the barriers.

Labyrinth
Solo Show: “Salz”
Jesuitenkirche Sankt Peter, Cologne, Garmany　2010
Photo: Stefan Worring
© Motoi Yamamoto

Yamamoto：
One more thing, my wife and I did not have a legal marriage in Japan for 14 years after we started living together. The reason for this is our separate surnames. We both wanted our own surnames, and we talked about how nice it would be if that were to happen, but in the end, that wish did not come true.

In 2005, we got legally married before traveling to Israel for an exhibition. At that time, the security situation in Israel was not good, and I had no choice but to submit the marriage registration because "if something should happen to us, we would not be able to see each other at the end of our lives unless we were a family legally."

So, I decided to participate in this project because I hope that my work will help famiee project make some progress.

We can change the world, without changing the law.

Uchiyama：
Thank you, both of you. I am very happy to have been able to connect with the people who have the same idea as I do.

If I may share my experience of the project, I came to realize that people with the same passion continue to take actions in their own right, even if each of them seems to have only a small impact, we can eventually change the world without changing the law.

For example, a life insurance company that cooperated with us said, "If you have a Famiee partnership certificate, you will be able to receive insurance benefits as a family member," and a local government also accepted our certificate to provide the services toward families.

 
By taking as many actions as we can, the world will change little by little. This is amazing, isn't it?

It's like a work of art by Mr. Yamamoto. This project has created a connection that is spreading to more and more people, and changing the world like a whirlpool. I feel that I was able to be a part of that whirlpool and be a part of the work.

Interviewer：
Not string theory, but it's whirlpool theory!

Everyone：(lol)

Uchiyama：
I would like to continue to expand this connection by involving people and society like a whirlpool.
Thank you all for your time today.



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Famiee's NFT art charity auction project will continue to introduce a variety of artists and works.

◆Famiee　NFT　CHARITY　（The event website）◆

Famiee NFT CHARITY

Your passion for art will be a step toward realizing a "variety of family forms."
If you sympathize with the project, please share the information and participate in the “NFT Art Charity Auction” (https://charity.famiee.com/).

＜Profile＞
●Mr. Motoi Yamamoto

He creates installations using salt to evoke cleansing and purification. It takes him anywhere from a few days to multiple weeks to draw these huge patterns on the floor by himself. Furthermore, on the last day of an exhibition, He together with the viewers to destroy the work and return the salt to the sea. He also produces detailed acrylic and pencil works. In recent years, He has worked very actively on collaborations with companies.

Profile Details：https://bit.ly/3HwGrZw
HP： https://www.motoi-works.com　
Twitter：@motoi_art　
Instagram： @yamamotomotoi