WOMEN IN THE HALITE
single channel video: FullHD(1920*1080) | act:send and receive salt | 10:00 seconds | silent

The novel of [Women in the Dunes](written by Kobo Abe) is a story about Men who was caught by women.
She lives in Dune. Women forced to Men to rake out sand. such sand as women, such women as sand.
She(sand) robbed his something before he knows. His mind which swung for a while is absorbed smoothly by the woman.
He will penetrate routine work and will discover the meaning of his life on a dune, at the same time.
‘rake out sand’ is meanless. but I felt this is a symbol about the psyche of Japan.
that's the generation of a meaning which takes place by a meaningless act, and pleasure of alive.
Since it is the man, something will be found out there (meaningless). I wished to express this beauty. It dispels believing the importance of an act simultaneously.

context & image


  • philosophical essay by Albert Camus (1942)

    The Myth of Sisyphus

    Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself [...] is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
    from wikipedia


  • Quotation from the Cinema

    WOMEN IN THE DUNES (1964)

    An entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
    Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara
    Writers: Kobo Abe (novel), Kobo Abe (screenplay)