Fujin－Iitate Monster Tower [2015]
Earth Spirit that Purifies Mistakes
Fujin–Iitate Monster Tower is a massive sculpture with a body standing sharply on the ground, holding a sack in both hands that causes wind and three windmills on its back. The windmills act as a small wind power generator, periodically absorbing and expelling water from a pond using stored energy. This sculpture served as the Fujin in a ceremony commemorating the 400th anniversary of Rimpa, PANTHEON, as a symbol of the circulation of atmosphere and water, as well as the purification of the land. The work was installed in the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden’s Kagamiike pond, just in front of the greenhouse.
Originally, it was intended as a memorial for a regional electric power company attempting to introduce renewable energy to Fukushima, including Iitate Village, a highly radiated village whose residents were ordered to evacuate. Local residents were deeply remorseful for being the victims of Tokyo’s energy policy, and with this as a backdrop, the Fukushima–based electric power company was determined to build an independent energy zone.
Yanobe, who had already interacted with Fukushima residents prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, had continued to support local museums, universities, and businesses even after the disaster, deepening bonds. He designed the Iitate Monster Tower, a massive earth spirit monument. It is filled with rage and affection and portrayed as a figure confronting the demon created by humanity—in other words, nuclear power. The artist was inspired by personifications of nature in Fukushima folklore, such as the “Monster Tower” limestone in Abukuma cave and the monster Onbonoyasu.
Fujin–Iitate Monster Tower debuted as a prototype at PANTHEON in 2015. A long with the sculpture, another sculpture, Raijin–Black Sun (2009–2015), was on display. Raijin–Black Sun contained a tesla coil resonant transformer, which discharged plasma, the fourth state of matter found in the sun, thunder, and nuclear fusion. As a result, Raijin–Black Sun is a nuclear metaphor.
Fujin–Iitate Monster Tower was later featured in his solo exhibition CINEMATIZE at the Takamatsu Art Museum. It repeatedly pumped water into and spat it out of an artificial pond built inside the museum, making the exhibition unique. During the exhibition, he shot the film CINEMATIZE, which featured Raijin–Black Sun as the set for a nuclear reactor. Fujin–Iitate Monster Tower, a symbol of renewable energy, stood in stark contrast. One could argue that another theme of Yanobe’s massive sculptures is the conflict and mediation over energy between humans and nature, which goes hand in hand with his other theme of “hope for the future.”
