Kamiyama Spiral, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, 2002: this work marks the culmination of Linda Gordon’s 6-week period of residency on the annual Kamiyama artist-in-residence programme (KAIR).
It is made up of slabs of stone unique to the area – the local’ao ishi’, which has a distinctive blue/green colour. Sealed to the stones’ top surface are black and white photographic images showing specific details from the local landscape: persimmon fruit, Japanese maple leaves, ginkgo tree –grasses, stones and flowers – all recognisably local, with special significance to the town’s inhabitants. There are 75 stones in all, and the piece is about 15 metres wide.
Here are a few close-ups of some of the stones, including one of me applying and sealing a collage of local agricultural fields.
