About the artwork

Tamugi is an isolated village on the slope of a mountain outside of Tokamachi. Naoyoshi Hikosaka, an artist born in Setagaya, Tokyo moved into the more than three-hundred-year-old community as an art project of perception and appreciation. Joining the 41-household village, the artist changed the community by becoming its 42nd household, moving his family register and changing his certificate of legal residence. 42 banners of excellent quality waved in the wind. The work was composed of two main parts. The first was Bikyoto Revolution House of Ruins. This was an art of ruins featuring Hikosaka’s work of 33 years including Floor Event, Wood Paintings, and Output Pictures. The second was Tamugi Teahouse based on “conceptualism of eating”. Residents of the community managed a unique teahouse, which served tomato soba noodles and tomato ice cream to visitors. Like the two parts of the human brain, the three-dimensional House of Ruins and Tamugi Teahouse revealed a new potential for contemporary art.