Lore of the land

For the past 14 years, FURUSAKA Haruka has been visiting the villages of the traditionally nomadic Sami people, best known as Scandinavia’s reindeer herders. A frequent visitor of the Sami, Furusaka has learned their way of life in the harsh Arctic environment. In recent years, her experiences with the Sami have inspired her to produce woodcuts that explore life in the mountains and the tools needed to survive there. Similarly, many of the utensils, clothing, and other materials found in the Aomori City Archives were devised out of necessity and made by hand from hemp, wood, bamboo, and other common materials. Through them, we can catch brief glimpses of the blessings that the land afforded the people of Aomori, as well as the joy, awe, and respect it inspired. We find something akin to the Sami within them—something common to all human beings who live close to nature. In this exhibition, Furusaka’s Sami-themed woodblock prints are displayed alongside items from the Aomori City Archives, including logging  tools and devices, folk materials such as kitchen utensils and clothing, as well as landscape and genre paintings and woodcut prints. Furusaka’s artworks, together with the Aomori City Archives, should provide us with valuable insights into the development of the human-nature relationship. (Publisher's website)