Obon

“By utilizing renewable, ecologically friendly materials I would like to suggest that it is possible to create contemporary public works while protecting and respecting the environment”   

– Miya Ando

“The foundation of my studio practice is based on the transformation of surface by focusing to create works with light and metals. I have a deep appreciation for the dynamics properties of metal and its ability to reflect light. Simultaneously, metal conveys strength and permanence, yet in the same instant it can appear delicate, fragile, luminous, soft, and ethereal. The medium then becomes both a contradiction and juxtaposition for expressing notions of evanescence including ideas such as the transitory and ephemeral nature of all things, quietude, and the underlying impermanence of everything.” (Ando, Statement of Her works, 2011)

As part of arte_FITS’s Art in Nature projects, in 2012 the foundation was able to collaborate with artist Miya Ando for her project Obon [Puerto Rico]. “Obon made use of natural materials found at Dorado Beach to create Land Art water work”. In her proposal for Obon, Miya Ando explained that the concept was going to be the creation of small boats made out of Ficus leafs for they “served as an ecologically friendly, poetic notion of a floating, ephemeral boat utilizing native flora”. The Ficus leaf boats were glued to a net and coated with non-toxic phosphorescent pigment that was invisible in daytime yet visible at night when it emitted a soft blue-colored glow. This visibility was due to the sunlight that the pigment was charged with during the time of day. Since it was an ephemeral installation, the leaves only floated for a short period of time before biodegrading into the water and becoming part of the environment.