I am really honoured to have been given the opportunity to be a part of this project. Upon receiving the radonseru, I couldn’t imagine changing the bag into anything else. It looked too precious. I decided to put things inside instead and allowed the bag to become a vessel for transformation.
As an artist I am always exploring my identity/identities and thought this project was so apt to build deeper connections with my Japanese heritage. With this project, I learnt the sashiko method of embroidery and decided to use them on the five stones. Each sac took me about 45 minutes to complete and inside each sac is a strip of paper, handwritten with lyrics from the Jidai (Time goes around) by Miyuki Nakajima-san. Jidai (Time Goes Around) One of my favourite singers, Hideaki Tokunaga also made a cover of the song.
With the five stones, I hope to connect people using a simple game as a platform to evoke conversations about pasts, traditions, who we are now and who we might become in the future.
On 27 July 2015, I situated myself outside 8Q, Singapore Art Museum with the five stones and radonseru to meet the public and interact through a game of five stones. Everything happened was beyond my imagination and definitely surpassed my expectations. It was truly an amazing experience and I cannot wait to see what will happen when the bag and five stones reach the children in Fukushima.
To follow the project, add me on Instagram: @riekoartsg, @schmeezo and #thejidaiproject