for praying

mixed media 

2011 - 2017

When I picked up a used mobile phone I bought on an Internet auction, I felt like I was holding a small coffin. So, I imagined the face and profile of the former owner from the name and address of the seller and the damage on the mobile phone, and decided to make an Ihai with plants for praying for soul.

An Ihai is a mortuary tablet, small black-painted wooden plate. Usually an Ihai is made for each of our deceased ancestors. And the name for the next world, called Kaimyo is engraved on it. The Iihai are enshrined in a butsu-dan or a family Buddhism altar. When we pray Ihai, we sit in front of the butsudan and put our hands together as a sign of respect.

インターネットオークションで購入した中古の携帯電話を手にした時、小さな棺を持っているように感じました。そこで出品者の名前や住所、携帯電話についている傷などから、元所有者の顔やプロフィールを想像し、供養のための植物とともに位牌とする作品を作ることにしました。