Nobuho Nagawawa: Selected Works

Overview

My professional work ranges from site-specific projects to installations to public art. I create an interactive space that is informed by the site - its history, people and spatial narrative. In this process, I investigate like a detective and search like an archeologist to explore the sociological and psychological content of each site. The immediate physical and social context of the site influences the form, content, and choice of materials and media in my work.

The materials and methodology involved in my projects are as diverse as the concepts that dictate them. I excavate numerous meanings - cultural, geopolitical, social or personal - that are hidden within the materials.

By revealing personal memories, collective histories, hidden myths and contradictory issues of human nature, I explore social and personal facets that galvanize public interaction.

Nagasawa's "Where Are You Going? Where Are You from" is a 15 foot high, 82 foot long, 100 ton bridge made of sandbags and barbed wire. With its war-era materials formed to mirror the nearby 12th century Charles Bridge, the work invoked the region's rich and ancient culture as well as its unsettled and violent history. At the head of the massive structure, installed is an elegant hourglass crafted from the Bohemian crystal for which the republic is famous. The black and white sand inside had been gathered from sites in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Nagasawa's works radiate a palpable power and vibrancy; the source of which is the place itself. She had visited the site and conducted extensive research into the area's past. She writes, "For me the creative process of art-making is as meaningful as the work itself. I believe that art can provide visual poetry to the environment as well as function as a catalyst to deconstruct and reinvent a new vision in society. By revealing personal memories, collective histories, hidden myths, and contradictory issues of human nature, I try to explore social and personal facets that can galvanize public interaction."

Barbara McKenna