CROSSROAD 3 - ART BASE MOMOSHIMA

Battleground for survival

Crossroad is a keyword when we consider the present condition of Japan. What have we learned from history and which path have we taken so far? What responsibility are we going to take? We presented the first “Crossroad" exhibition in 2014 and the second in 2017, to question Japan’s present state. This exhibition is the third in the series of Crossroad exhibitions. We are certain that the key to overcome a sense of stagnation prevailing in Japan and raise a revolution is found in our everyday life. The converted abandoned house is set as the main exhibition battleground.

Momoshima, an island in Onomichi-City, Hiroshima Prefecture, suffers population decline. Its current population is estimated at below 400, which is a huge loss from the population of approximately 3,000 after the war. There is almost no accommodation or eating facility on the island. Art Base Momoshima is proud to announce the opening of Otsu 1731- GOEMON HOUSE, the former derelict house for 47 years, now a converted accommodation facility where visitors stay while enjoying art. The master of GOEMON HOUSE is a provocative artwork and an over-sized Goemon Bath. The structure of Goemon Bath is simple: Water pumped from a well and poured in the cauldron-shaped bathtub is heated by firewood. It is proven from past disasters, including the Great East Japan Earthquake, that this type of bath is efficient in times of disaster when lifeline systems are damaged. This exhibition is presented in Otsu 1731- GOEMON HOUSE, ahead of its opening as an accommodation facility in the summer of 2019. Provoking artwork by Chu Enoki is shown in the hall of the main house, and Yukinori Yanagi’s radical new work is set as an object of worship of the house. Momoshima Hyper Factory, a group of Momoshima’s craftworkers, worked on the renovation of the house as well as the installation of Goemon Bath. The exhibition venue, GOEMON HOUSE is set as a battleground where viewers are asked to think twice about the overuse of energy in our present life and contemplate a form of “life = art".