As the Northern Alps International Art Festival's theme, "Water, Trees, Earth, and Sky," suggests, walking through Shinano-Omachi, touring the artworks, will leave you deeply moved by the beauty of the mountains, the dignified atmosphere of the village, and the purity of the clear water. These never-before-seen landscapes will inspire new images and ideas.

Northern Alps International Art Festival Guide—Summer Shinano-Omachi Art Trip 1/3 Return...

●2) Dam Area—Forms Blending with Nature and Rich Soil
Omachi Dam, built against the stunning backdrop of the Takase Valley, is a meeting point between nature and civilization. Also known as "Lake Ryujin," this multipurpose dam was built in response to the devastating flood of 1969. The Takase River, where the dam is located, joins the Sai River 25 kilometers downstream, changing its name to the Chikuma River and then the Shinano River before flowing into the Sea of Japan. Its source is Mount Yari in the Northern Alps. A total of four artworks can be viewed in this place, which preserves the memory of the conflict between water and humans.

At the Omachi Energy Museum, which exhibits the history of hydroelectric energy, Yusuke Asai has painted a painting titled "Spring of Earth" using local soil on a huge 38-meter-wide wall.







From there, it was just a few minutes' walk to the hot spring facility, Komadome no Yado Kokorokan. On the second floor, Koichi Kurita exhibits "Earthen Road, Road of Life," based on the theme of the "Salt Road, Senkoku Kaido." This work evokes the image of salt transported by ship along the Sea of Japan, gathering in Itoigawa, and then crossing the mountains to reach Shinano-Omachi. Around 1990, Kurita became aware of the natural beauty of soil and began collecting it across the Japanese archipelago in his compact car. Each piece of soil is dried, carefully removed of stones and plant roots, and sieved to even out the particles, revealing a stunningly beautiful appearance. Each piece, labeled with the name of the place where it was collected, begins to tell a story of the salt, essential to life, and the time that the soil itself has passed through.


3) Source Area—Fresh greenery shrouded in mist and pure blue meltwater
This is the Kashima River basin, where meltwater from the Northern Alps flows. With famous tourist spots such as Kurobe Dam and Omachi Onsenkyo, Shinano Omachi is best known as a "town of water." Many of the artworks feature water itself, and are full of transparency, with a total of nine works on display.




James Tapscott, an Australian artist who has used natural materials as a medium for his creative work, took on the challenge of creating a work titled "Arc ZERO" at Hotokezaki Kannon-ji Temple. Blue meltwater flows vigorously beneath the arched bridge that spans the approach to the shrine. A ring of glowing mist appears, enveloping the bridge. "Rather than a work that uses water, I wanted to create a work of art that is water itself," he says. The work expresses the cycle of water: clouds are born from water vapor, snow falls on the mountains, the meltwater collects in rivers, flows into the sea, and turns back into water vapor... The bridge is the boundary between this world and the next. The glowing mist spreads deep into the coniferous trees, inviting the viewer into another world.







In a vacant shop in Omachi's hot spring resort town, Shintsubo Takehide, who uses photography, video, and sound as his materials, and Ikegami Takashi, who researches complex systems science and artificial life, will focus on the "Salt Road" in Omachi city's history and create an installation titled "Invisible City: Long Goodbye," in which they will lay large amounts of salt on the floor of an architectural space that abstracts the image of an icehouse in a basement.



"Northern Alps International Art Festival" Guide - Continued in "Summer Shinano Omachi Art Trip 3/3"...