Yoko Ozawa
吹き溜まり Fukidamari — a bank of falling leaves 2023

installation, kiln bricks, ceramic vessels
size varies

Copyright of the artist

The falling leaves with the dust and sand blown by the wind and drifted into the bank, shaped themselves into a large vessel.

– Yoko Ozawa

This final installation is a re-contextualisation of Yoko’s large sculptural work of the same name currently on display as part of the NGV’s Melbourne Now exhibition.

Situated in the centre of the room is the central piece of the installation work - an embankment built by the artist from kiln bricks with bundles of objects piled up into the corner of its recesses.

The artist invites the viewer to walk around the work - to notice the blank space surrounding its form, to squat down or sit and discover new perspectives and connections between artwork and body. 

Elsewhere in the room, there are other familiar bundles of ceramic objects: resonances in colour, shape and form and repeated motifs that call to mind earlier installations.

Earthy, Autumnal tones, figurative elements vaguely reminiscent of twigs, leaves or gum nuts that familiar hat-like motif (inspired by the artist’s hat), repeated throughout, sometimes marked with signs of decay, sometimes not. 

Sometimes sitting alone, often gathered atop one another, there is stillness and movement in this work, a dualism that is a fitting evocation of the changing nature of the Waring/Aki/Autumn season.

Sometimes there is mist and heavy rain when lichen grows on the fallen wet leaves when our sunny disposition and the hat, sodden and slightly deflated, is perhaps like its wearer, less inclined to notice the surrounding beauty. 

Other times, there are days of brilliant sunshine when that sun hat shields its wearer from the glare as she gazes up at a majestic gum to notice flowers blowing along on a cool breeze. 

In this way, the vessels made of nature (earth, fire and water), be they hat, twig, leaf-like or simply abstractive forms, are imbued with the spiritual essence or kami. 

Made by the artist’s hands, they represent the emotions and experiences of the artist as spirit markers of her interconnection with place, nature and surroundings.

While the installation can be enjoyed its own merit, to gain a deeper appreciation, we recommend you visit the NGV to see Yoko’s sculpture of the same name. You can also learn more by watching the video and reading the corresponding wall text. 

—Emma Thomson, correspondences