涙の器

​展示では１６個の《涙の器》を手にとって

水を張ったシャーレに浮かべることで

光の反射が”涙で滲んだ視界”にみえる

ささやかなインスタレーションを設置しています。

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「涙壺」と呼ばれる、直径4〜5cmほどの小瓶が

古代ギリシャ・ローマの遺跡からたびたび出土されます。

 

戦地に赴く夫を思い、妻が流した涙を入れたーー

そんな逸話で知られる涙壺ですが、実はこれ、後世の作り話。

当時貴重だった香水や軟膏を入れ、死者を清めるとともに

腐敗臭をやわらげる用途で使われていたようです。

注ぎ口に向かって首が長い形状も、

貴重な香料や薬の水分が蒸発するのを少しでも防ぐため。

 

それでも、出土するのが古代の葬儀場であることから、

悲しみの涙を入れた器なのではないか。

そんな憶測が広まりました。

「私の涙をあなたの瓶に入れてください」という一節が

旧約聖書やシェイクスピアの劇にも登場します。

 

私はこの史実を知って、ひどく驚きました。

涙壺が後世の作り話だったからではありません。

作品を作り終えたあとに調べてみたら

たくさんの人が近しいことを考えていたことに驚いたのです。

 

《涙の器》はこのかたちに至るまでに

100個以上の試作品を制作していますが

なかには、涙壺と同じような形状の器も少なくありません。

それを「何かが違う」と感じてしまったのは、

私の力量不足によるところもあるでしょう。

 

ですが、私が信じてやまないのは、

地球の歴史がはじまって以来、

人間に限らないあらゆる生命たちが

しずかにこぼしてきた涙をうけとめてきた器です。

せめて、それくらいもの、

この世界にあって然るべきだと思うのです。

 

だから素材は、ずっと地球にあるものがいい。

人間の作為から遠く離れた、

どこにでもあるあたりまえのものがふさわしい。

作者の為すべきことは、ほんの少し、手心を加えるだけ。

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路傍に転がるただの石ころにその原型をみてしまったのは、

私自身が、路傍に転がる石ころだったからかもしれません。

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Ever since the Earth was born, all living things — not just humans — must have shed at least one tear that went unnoticed by anyone. If that is the case, surely there must be a vessel that has caught those tears.​

Based on this idea, the artist created “Bowl for Tears” by collecting ordinary stones found on the streets — from their immediate surroundings to overseas — and crafting them into vessels capable of holding a single tear.​

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​The exhibition features an installation in which visitors can pick up 16 “Bowl for Tears” and float them in petri dishes filled with water, creating a reflection of light that resembles a “view blurred by tears.”

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Small bottles known as “lachrymatory” measuring about 4 to 5 cm in diameter, are reportedly frequently unearthed from ancient Greek and Roman archaeological sites.

While these lachrymatory is known for the anecdote that they held the tears shed by wives as they thought of their husbands heading off to war, this is actually a story invented in later times. It appears they were used to hold perfumes and ointments—which were precious at the time—to purify the deceased and mitigate the odor of decomposition. Their long, narrow shape, tapering toward the spout, was also designed to minimize the evaporation of moisture from precious fragrances and medicines.

Nevertheless, because they are excavated from ancient burial sites, speculation spread that they might indeed be vessels for tears of grief. The phrase “Put my tears in your bottle” appears in both the Old Testament and Shakespeare’s plays.

I was deeply surprised when I learned this historical fact. Not because the lachrymatory was a later fabrication, but because, after finishing the work and doing some research, I was astonished to find that so many people had already come to similar ideas.

In the process of developing the final form of *Bowl for Tears*, I created over 100 prototypes, and quite a few of them resembled the shape of a lachrymatory. The fact that I felt “something was off” about them may be partly due to my own lack of skill.

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However, what I firmly believe is that the bowl has been catching the tears quietly shed by all living things — not just humans — since the dawn of Earth’s history. I believe that, at the very least, something like this ought to exist in this world.

That is why I chose materials that have always been part of the Earth. Ordinary, everyday stones — far removed from human artifice — are the most fitting. All I needs to touch-up.
Perhaps the reason I saw the model in a mere pebble lying by the roadside is that I'm also just a pebble lying by the roadside.