Hideo Nagai
paradise / heaven
Okinawa is formed by coral and other sediments and volcanic eruptions in ancient times.
Especially Yambaru in the northern part of the island is gifted with rich nature and beautiful scenery, and its forests are home to a wide variety of unique and rare species of plants and animals, which create an ecosystem of great diversity. The surrounding area has old traditional Ryukyuan architecture in harmony with nature.
I was inspired by the environmental changes I noticed when I visited the coast of Okinawa last year, and by the children playing in the sandboxes. From this, I was motivated to express the nature and culture of Yambaru through sculptures using sand as a material.
In this installation work, sculptures featuring Yanbaru's native plants and animals (Okinawa spiny rat, hermit crab, banyan tree, etc.) and old houses are displayed as a group of statues on a huge sand hill. At the top of the sand hill there is a sand sculpture of a child symbolizing hope for the future. These works express homage to the beauty of nature and traditional culture, and through humorous expressions, try to share these thoughts with the children of the future.
Exhibition hall
Okuma Private Beach & Resort 913-1 Okuma, Kunigami Village, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa
ARTIST
Hideo Nagai
He has created works with an overwhelming presence and a sense of humor that opens the viewer's mind, such as "BABA PROJECT" (2001), a large sculpture that deforms the existence of the subject based on the resistance of invisible forces and his own identity, and "B-PROJECT: Throw at the Navel" (2011). Since then, he has created "Endorphin" (2016), an installation work based on the theme of morphine secreted in the brain by fumigating 150 self-made crutches, and "Time 21106" (2020), a painting work expressing time, simultaneity, and memory/record. Major exhibitions include CAFE in Mito 2004 at Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito, Osaka Canvas Project 2010 at Sakishima Government Building, Kyoto International Film Festival 2016 at Kyoto City Hall Square, and many other solo and group exhibitions. In addition, he received the Incentive Award at Kirin Art Award in 2002.