the day the weight lifts.

Guten abends meiner freunden, es ist sehr gut zu haben du gesehen. Ja? give me a german speaker anyday, even just a european. i will cope. but japanese! gollygollygolly. boy is it difficult. but muchos respect for the guys who do manage to get what we are at. it cannot be easy. not easy at all. and kosho. the god of all JApan...hail buddha kosho...is an absolute saint, it is incredibly tiring for him to be a translator. for those of you who know kosho you know he is not entirely comfortable with english language but his achievement so far is unbelievable. respect.
so today we opened, here there and then, a gallerie weissraum exhibition. oh my god what an amazing space. everything is white. it has made me realise that it is not white that i love but its possibility for being anything. and everything. so yesterday, we were up at seven, an hour before our usual rising time, chris had what appeared to be a massive task ahead of him. finding the right soil, collecting enough soil, transporting said soil, building shelves, painting shelves, hanging shelves, mounting photos, etc. the list could go on. in true chrismackie style he managed it all and some. kosho too, had a big challenge ahead having to format the space in a way he felt fit (when the time came however we all sorted this out. but for the sake of takaya it was kosho's responsibility) translate screeds of our english blurb into japanese, and to top it off assemble his work. i had frosties when i woke up, follwed by marmalade on toast and a cup of lipton yellow bag tea. A nice cool shower, a deep breath and then got stuck in. we packed as best we could at otagi-ji, the gallery is far from the temple and we would not be returning until after we had finished...wherever that would leave us. the sun was out adn it was a beautiful drive across the city. the rush hour traffic was receding and we made it to our destination within 45minutes. so many cyclists on the roads, it is really amazing to see. if a little dangerous when walking along the pavement. but they actually have whole parks just for bikes to be left. makes us appreciate just how neolithic britain is in this area, aswell as many others.


when we arrived at weissrauum there was everything to do. takaya was not yet there and wouldnt be until afternoon but the door was opened for us by one of his students who studies with him in his studio above the gallery. kosho also studies here in the years between school and coming to edinburgh. takaya's studio is amazing, it felt so familiar to me and it took me a while to realise how much it reminded me of granny's classroom at graysmill. the smell, laminate flooring, 1970's deco and layout. along with the random stuff lying around ('jack in the box' spring to mind anybody?) it was a really nice place to be. helga weihs was still to take down her show and so we were to help in this before we could begin work ourselves. the whole operation was remarably smooth, everyone sorting themselves out and asking for help/receiving help whenever it was necessary. i think the fact that we have all such a close relationship now really helped in this situation. many bottles of juice were bought from the infamous mr.boss (the drinks machine next to the gallery) and it was sushi again for lunch. salmon rice balls this time, wrapped in seaweed, i had a few other things aswell, but the local scotmid (or lawson's as it is kjnown here kept us well. kosho and i wentr on an epedition to the hundred yen store....wow. wow. and wow. you thought the edinburgh bargain stores had everything in the world. cheap. well the hundred yen store tops it. and everything costs 100 yen. oh yeas, including the luminous shoe laces. but we got what we were looking for and headed back to base to continue. it was an eventful day adn very productive. i got alot of work done. including a collaborative piece with weihs. i call it, 'You draw it, i'll colour it in/p.s Helga doesn't know!)'



i was pretty pleased with it and i think she would be too, if i had actually explained to her what i was upto. oh by the way check out this page, i love it. its my name, but only it says that i have an exhibition in kyoto. sorry, i still can't quite believe it. i need shaken. http://www.geocities.jp/weissraum/new/new.html

i set up a few different ideas before deciding on the right one for the space. my inquisitive nature paid off when i unearthed some amazing black holes which had been boarded over and painted white. luckily nothing stops me when i get a screwdriver in hand. adn i found the most perfect cavity in an amazing corner in a room presumed to just be a white cube with fluoro striplights. and then chris had the genius realisation taht tehre were spotlight tracks on my ceiling adn he would not be needing lighting in the front room so i could borrow the big old spots from the front and use them in my room. bone-us. so i could then start to make a house a home and sorted it out till i felt really happy with it.
this setup very nearly made it as a piece. and it was for about 3 hours and then progress prevailed.

the end product of which is a white room with a dark, wooden-clad passageway in the corner. my strings are over the passage entrance. occupying the space between the room and the inside of the buildings structure. when they are plucked they resonate greatly (plasterboard on wooden walls.) basically it is perfect and i couldnt have hoped for more or better, i am a very pleased and happy camper. here is a photo what do you think?


over the doorway on the right hand door post as you first enter the space there is a single string again bridging the gap between spaces and when plucked sounds very different from the other setup. again a i am happy that it is a successful representation.

apart from these two strings have only the statement on the opposite wall from the door. due to the warm light from the three very old 100w spots and the position of the room within the building i feel it produces a very warm, enveloping environment. one chap has already written in my 'penny for your thoughts?' comment book that he felt like he was inside the soundhole of a guitar and that the presence of the strings made him realise all the sounds within that environment. very simple idea but beautiful to see it being said. success. i liked him he studies philosophy.



it helps that chris and koshos pieces are equally as successful, we are all really happy with how it has turned out. well almost, chris doesnt like his boxes anymore but really likes the rest of it. i dont think id like my strings if i hadnt found that hole. adn i have three 9x6inch prints of me in the environment along with my most recent sketchbook in the cafe room.



i will get some more photos posted once i get time. but for now it is 2.30 and i know mary will be in to wake us up in the morning so i best get to sleep. she is a maltese terrior.

nightnight.x