Rodine's words/ ロジンさんの言葉

We pick up garbage every Monday for 4 continuous hours under the heat. It's really tiring. Every next day my body gets stiff from lifting heavy trashcans. It's not rare to find trashcans tipped over and we have to pick up all the trash scattered on the street. I know no one has asked me to do this. On Monday mornings I find myself wanting to sleep more instead of leaving for garbage pick-up. And sometimes I really did slept over and didn't go work. 

毎週月曜日のゴミ収集は結構キツイ。4時間ぶっ通しで炎天下で動きっぱなし。日本みたいなゴミ収集車はないし、ゴミは袋に入ってないしですぐに全身ゴミまみれ。別に誰に頼まれたわけでもないし(これに限らずなんでもそうね)、朝は眠いし、ああ今日はこのまま寝てよーかなーとかって割と毎週思う。で、ホントにサボって寝てたこともある。

The other day, Rodine (the lady in the photo) has joined us. She said: 

"I saw you doing this twice and was astonished. I thought those who collect garbage only do so in order to make some small money for themselves. A white person (me) from overseas is now doing this. A black person (her) from here has to work, too. So I became a member of the association."

こないだ、ロジンさん(写真の女性)が新メンバーになった。

「あなたがゴミ集めをしているのを二度目撃した。驚いた。ゴミ集めなんて、仕事のない人間がどうにかお金を稼ごうと思ってしているものだと思っていた。外国から来た白人(ワタシ)が働いてるのに地元の黒人(カノジョ)が働かないわけにはいかない。それでアソシエーションに参加した。」

って言われた。

No one has asked me to do anything but everyone is watching me if I do something. Her words made me look forward to working again next Monday.

やはり結構みんな見てる。ちょっと嬉しかった。そして、結構やる気が出た。来週も働こうって思った。

Donation needed/ 図工セットください

<Donation of art supplies needed: crayons, colored pencils, scissors, paints, paint brushes, notebooks, art books or others>

We, WOUNTOGOSUI, will start hosting small art contests for children in Diebougou. Our aim is to make arts something close to people's everyday life in Diebougou. For the children who will win prizes, we'd like to give them some art materials. Here in Diebougou, as Kinda says because the number of the people who are interested in art is so small, we cannot even find a store to buy colored pencils. Please mail us some art materials to give to the children as prizes. All kinds are welcomed. If you are mailing from the U.S, let me know before you send. One set of pencils means really a lot for us. 

And if you can put a picture of you as well, we'd love that. Thank you! 

Address: MiyuLeilani Sakurai/ CMA Diebougou 

BP 05 Diebougou Burkina Faso

Tel: +226 66702953

拡散希望

<美術、図工の道具を送ってください:クレヨン、色鉛筆、ノート、アートブック、絵の具、ふで、ハサミ、などなんでも>

私たちWOUNTOGOSUIは、小さなアートコンテストをディエブグ(ブルキナファソ)の小学校で行って行くことにしました。賞を取った子供達に商品として、図工セットをあげたいと思っています。企画者のキンダさんによると、アート人口が少なすぎてディエブグには色鉛筆を売ってる店もない、のだとか。私たちはいろんな方向から、ディエブグの人々にアートが身近になるように働きかけたいと思っています。いろんな美術、図工関連のものを送ってください。(寄付)100きんで売ってる色鉛筆セット一個だって宝物になります。そしてそこからまた絵をかくことができます。待ってます。ついでに皆さんの写真も一枚入れてもらえたら、みんな喜ぶとおもう。アイデアに賛同してもらえたら、ご協力ください。

住所:MiyuLeilani Sakurai/ CMA Diebougou 

BP 05 Diebougou Burkina Faso

電話: +226 66702953

パリからのお客様/ a guest from Paris

 

アーティストのSenoo Sayoさんがパリからディエブグにやって来た。Sayoさんは生き物が食べ物に変わっていく過程に興味があるらしく、動物の解体を追っていた。大都市では、すでに生きていた時代の原型を全くとどめていない肉の塊なんかがスーパーで売っている、そこに命があったことがまるで隠されているみたいに。その隠されてたような過程へのグリーティングカードを作っているのだと、Sayoさんは言っていた。

 

 

 

 

Sayo Senoo, an artist based in Paris, has visited Diebougou. She 

is interested in the process of the transformation of life to food. In big cities, we find a chunk of meet that makes us impossible to imagine its form of origin, as if the fact that it was a life that has been killed has been tried to be hidden. Sayo says she is making greeting cards to invite people to that hidden process of transformation from a life to become a food. 

 

 

彼女の興味の対象は、私がディエブグで感じた、自然の循環の在り方と近いなと思った。ディエブグのみんなに、東京ではパックに入った肉がずらーって並んで売ってるんだよって言ってもイマイチどういうことだかピンとこないようで、それは変だね、なんて言われる。ディエブグでは、みんな、肉が生きていて、殺されて、食べ物に変わってきたって知っている。当たり前に、知っている。

 

 

Her object of attention is very close to the idea of circulation of life that I felt strongly in the life of people in Diebougou. Here even if I explain that we find packed meats in rows in supermarkets in Tokyo, people cannot imagine what that are like and may say, well it's weird. Here, everyone knows that meats were alive before, and have been killed for us to eat. Everyone does know that.

 

 

自分をアーティストと呼ぶ人間がひとりしかいないディエブグに外部からアーティストが来てくれるのは大歓迎だ。外からのチカラはとても新鮮で大きな影響を与える。Sayoさんが来てくれて、みんなと話をして、ディエブグを好きになってくれて、とても嬉しい。私の愛するディエブグがSayoさんにいい影響を与え、そしてSayoさんがディエブグにいい影響を与える。これって最高。

 

 

It means a lot to have visitors like her in Diebougou, where we can find only one person who presents himself as an artist. Powers from exteriors give us such new sensations. My loved Diebougou loved Sayo and she loved Diebougou. Isn't it awesome? 

 

 

ディエブグ/ Diebougou

この場所は私には合わないかもしれないと思った理由は、人々による、肌の色における他者への区別の顕著さにさみしさを感じたためだった。好んで六年暮らしたニューヨークは、出身や国籍、人種に関わらず、住民をニューヨーカーと呼ぶような場所だった。日本出身でアジア系だが混合文化を持つ私も例にもれず、ただのニューヨーカーであった。東京で、日本を単一民族、単一文化と捉えるがごとくの社会の中でどうも日本人になりきれなかった私は、何をしても自己責任のあの街で、随分と楽になっていた。

I wasn't sure if this was the right place for me. Maybe it was because I felt isolation from people's distinction between the races regarding to skin colors. New York, the place I liked and lived for 6 years, was where everybody who lives there is recognized as a New Yorker regardless of race, culture, place of origin, or skin color. I (from Japan, Asian, multicultural) was just a New Yorker but anything else. I was feeling so released in NY, from the small society of Tokyo, which made me feel like it almost forced me to accept "the homogeneous nation/ culture Japan." Me, who couldn't form myself to act as an ordinary Japanese, was so relaxed in the city where anything I do is just on my responsibility. 

ただ単に生理前だったからなのかもしれないが、ディエブグへ越してきた一ヶ月後くらいに一度、人前で泣いた。息を吸って歩いているだけで見つめられ、「トゥバブ(白い肌の人)」と叫ばれることに疲れていた。キラキラしていて温かい人々のつながりの中にどっぷりと入りたいと願い、そしてそれは不可能なことのように感じられて、随分とさみしい気持ちになったのだ。「ああ、ここで産まれたかった」そんなふうに思ったのは、初めてのことだった。

I cried once in front of my friends about a month later I arrived to Diebougou. I don't know if it was just because I was in the sensitive period in my menstruation or if this thing really did mean a lot to me. But I was getting tired of being called "Tubabu" (someone with white skin) at everywhere I showed up. I was longing to become a part of the warm, strong, relationship between the people and felt that it seemed impossible to be and became lonely. "I wanted to have been born here." For the first time I thought like this. 

今はもう、さみしくはない。あの頃は、私自身がディエブグをまるで自分とは別の存在のように捉えていたのだろうと思う。この街で生きていくうちに、意思に関わらず、自身がディエブグの大きな一部分になっていくことを実感する。私たちの街というフレーズが、心にしっくりとはまるようになってくる。対トゥバブではなく、対私個人という認識の上で接してくれる相手が増えてくるうちに、自分の居場所ができてくる。ここで産まれなかった私も、ここの人間になれたのだ。毎日がキラキラと温かいものにつつまれて、私自身もそんな存在になりたいなあと思うのだ。

Now, I'm not sad anymore. At that time I think I was taking Diebougou as something different from myself, as somewhere I do not belong to. As I live my everyday life here, regardless of our will, I feel that I'm integrating into the city, am becoming a part of Diebougou. The phrase, "OUR Diebougou", is coming to fit well to my heart. Having more and more people who treat me as an individual instead of Tubabu, I feel that I'm finding my places. I wasn't born here but could become someone of here. I'm loving my life. 

ゴミとアートと舞踏と/ garbage and art and butoh and..

毎週月曜日のゴミ回収に同行し始めてから約2ヶ月後、こんなのは女の仕事じゃないと言って来てくれなかった女性たちが、来た。アジア系の私はただでさえ目立つ。ゴミリーダーのアントワンいわく、ガイジンの女がゴミまみれになってる！ってビックリして、自分もやるって言って来てくれたらしい。ホントかウソか知らないが、なんかこういうのは地味に嬉しい。いつもは3人のゴミ回収が5人になっちゃって、そんなに沢山はいらないので私は途中でみんなに任せて帰って来た。ああ、たのしい。

Since about two months ago, I've been working with a garbage collection association and every Monday I've been going abound the city to collect garbage disposed in the 80 trash cans placed. It has been always only some two other men members and me who do this job. I've heard women say that it's not a job for women. Today, for the first time, two women showed up. According to Antoine, the leader of the association, they saw a foreign woman (me) collecting garbage and stood up saying they gotta do it too. I don't know if that's true or not but I was happy to be accompanied by our new members. 

ちなみに今この瞬間は首都のワガドゥグ行きのバスの中、iPhoneに入ってたエディットピアフときゃりーぱみゅぱみゅを聴きながらこれを書いている。

By the way now at this moment I'm writing it in a bus on a way to the capital city, Ouagadougou, listening to Edith Piaf (French Chanson) and Carry Pamu Pamu (Japanese Pops) that I found in my iPhone.

最近、ディエブグのアートリーダーのキンダは体調を崩してて、マラリアかと思ったら腸チフスだったらしくちょっと長引いている。暇になった先週、色々と新しくプロジェクトを企画した。お金のにおいを極力抑えて、ディエブグの人たちを、そしてディエブグとその他をアートでつなげてみる。

Lately, our art leader Kinda has been in bed. We first thought it was malaria but it actually was 

typhoid he has. So his recovery is taking a bit longer. Then I got so much free time to think and refresh  a lot. I'd like to connect people by arts. 

企画1:ディエブグ産のアートの海外進出

企画2: ディエブグとニューヨークのアートコラボ

企画3: ディエブグの街をゴミの街からアートの街へ 

企画4: ディエブグの貧しい子供のアート職業訓練学校開校 

企画5: ディエブグとスリランカの小学校ひとクラスずつ選んでアート文化交流 

企画6: 東京のDance mediumの舞踏作品「帰ル」のディエブグでの映像上映会

Project no.1 Arts to the world from Diebougou

Project no.2 Art collaboration between Diebougou and New York

Project no.3 Diebougou, the city of garbage, to the city of art

Project no.4 creation of art school for the kids with no money

Project no.5 Cultural exchange by art between elementary schools of Diebougou and a village of Sri Lanka 

Project no.6 Film showing of the Butoh piece "Coming home" by Dance Medium from Tokyo, in Diebougou.

 今日、朝のゴミ回収で浮いた時間に、ディエブグに舞台芸術を広めようとしているワタラさんに会って、舞踏上映会のハナシをしてきた。コンテンポラリーダンスだって殆ど誰もどんなものだか想像もできないようなこの街で、舞踏を紹介するのはドキドキする。ワタラさんはなんとひと月前から映画館と呼ばれるただ一つの場所で、無料で映画の上映会を始めていたんだと。だから、舞踏映像上映会はものすごくタイミングが良かった。

I went to see Mr. Ouatara who is trying to introduce theater arts to the people of Diebougou, to talk about my idea of Butoh showings. He said in Diebougou, almost no one can even imagine how a contemporary dance is like. Well, introducing Butoh, which might not even be in a category of contemporary dance, is just so exciting. Mr. Ouatara said he has been doing free film showings since a month ago. So it was a perfect timing today to tell him about this idea of theater film showing. 

Dance Medium のウエブサイト

Dance Medium's website

http://dancemedium.net

思いついたときにすぐ呼び出して、もしくは出向いて、ハナシが出来るから、ディエブグが好き。街が大きすぎず小さすぎず、予定がゼロではないけどちゃんとは決まってない。だから人がすぐつかまるし、物事の動くのも早い。仲間が増えていく。田舎っていいなあ。

In Diebougou, things don't get too complicated. Whenever I come up with some idea, whenever I wanna talk with someone, I can just call him up to make him come see me or to visit him from myself. Diebougou isn't too big but isn't too small either. People do have plans everyday but aren't too fixed. So I can do what I want to do today today and things move quickly. Every time I talk I feel I get new companions. Oh I'm liking this  country life.

メンバー募集/ Members Wanted

キンダとナミと共にアートグループを立ち上げて、WOUNTOGOSUIと名付けた年末からひと月ちょい、アートオブジェを作ったり、販売用のポストカードを作ったりしてきた。とりあえず、身近な外国人のJICA関係者にちょっとずつポストカードをうったりしてきたけど、なんせ全部手描きなため、作品づくりにかかる時間を考えると、単価の安いポストカードは宣伝には良いが収入源としては中々見込めないなあと思っている。

 

It has been about a month and half since I've created an art group named WOUNTOGOSUI with Nami and Kinda, we've made some art objects to place and postcards for sale. For the moment I've introduced them to the people related to JICA and sold some. But because all the cards are handmade, it takes time to create one and a unit price is too low if we consider this as a small art business that can earn some people's livings.

 

最初に売れたカード/ first cards of ours have been sold 

 

お金のない子供のためのアート学校をつくりたいので、もうちょっと単価の高いものを作らないと、成り立たない。だからポストカードはそのうち、手描きじゃなくした方が良いのかも。デザインを固定して複製可能にしたり。

 

Because we'd eventually like to open an art school for the kids who have no money, we'd better start creating things that can be sold with the price a bit higher. Operating such school will mean that we'll have to earn kids' livings by selling our art works. 

 

観光スポットにしたいなあ/ wanna make here a touristic sight of Diébougou.

 

キンダがこないだその辺にあったてきとうな鉄の棒を火にくべてつくった焼き絵がとても素敵だったので、焼き絵専門の材料をどうにか買って、それこそ時間とてまをかけて焼き絵を売っていけたら良いんじゃないかと思っている。

 

Kinda has created some pyrography the other day with the iron bars he found somewhere. If we can gain the special material for making pyrography, maybe this will be a central product of ours.

 

ケイナのアイデアで作ったカラバスの焼き絵/ pyrography on the surface of carabas, idea given by Keina 

 

とここまではビジネスみたいなハナシなんだけど、私達がしたいこと、その中心ってのはビジネスじゃない。ブルキナファソの工芸品、お土産品というよりは、あくまでもディエブグ発信の「アート作品」という視点で進めていきたい。やろうとしていることはなんだか言って見れば、途上国と先進国のフェアトレードみたいなものかもしれないけど、なんか、フェアトレードという言葉自体がフェアじゃない気がしてしまうのは私だけだろうか。

 

Until here, I'm talking about it like a business, but "business" is certainly not the central concept of WOUNTOGOSUI. Rather than creating products that can make lots of money or so, we'd like to focus our concept on "the communication between Diebougou and other places or people" and the tool of the communication must be arts. I think it would be wonderful if our beautiful Diebougou will be connected with other parts of the world.

 

 

ともあれ、3人だけで始まったWOUNTOGOSUIも、ディエブグ、ニューヨーク、東京のメンバーを着実に増やし、ひと月ちょっとで少しカタチができつつある。東京のキョンが作ってくれているウエブサイトを紹介したい。まだ完成はしていなくて、いろんなメンバーの言葉や写真を足したり、ネット販売の手はずを整えたり、フランス語版をつくったりしていく予定だけど、キョンが作ってくれてニューヨークのともこさんが翻訳してくれたウエブサイトがなんだかとてもいい感じなのでシェアしたい。

 

Anyhow, in the last 6 weeks, many people from Diebougou, New York, and Tokyo have joined WOUNTOGOSUI and we are beginning to take form. Kyomi Shiraishi joined us from Tokyo, and has created a lovely website for us. And Tomoko Takedani Sater joined us from New York and did a beautiful translation work. It's not yet completed but I'd like to introduce it here. We've made it in English and Japanese, and are working on making a French version.

 

 

私の周りには、情熱を持った、才能あふれる人間がとても多い気がする。今回も、そういう人たちの協力の元に、私が何もしなくても(まあ何もしてないってことはないのだが)物事が進んでいく。WOUNTOGOSUIには私的な金銭を得るために動いている人間がいない。みな、それぞれの想いの元に(そして私自身はただなんだかワクワクするコトをしたくて)、関わっている。お金は必要だけど、それが目的になってしまうとやっぱり虚しいから、なんかそうじゃないところが原動力になる、それは私の最近のコンセプトかもしれない。

 

There are so many people around me who have passions and are greatly skilled.  This time also, because of the supports of those people, without me doing much, things are moving forward.

In our group, there is no one who acts for one's own (financial) interest. There is something that interests them to decide to join us but that isn't money. I think this is important. Yes, we need money, but isn't the goal or purpose of our motive power. 

 

キンダの息子のベニーはいつも楽しそう/ Kinda's Son, Benee is always playing and having fun.

 

どういう方向でも良い。私たちのプロジェクトに関わってくれるひと、募集します。どういう関わり方があるのか、わかんないけど、なんかそれを考えることはとても重要な気がする。関わり方って、金銭支援だけじゃないはずなんだよね。なんかもっと別の方向で、あなたとディエブグが繋がったりできないかな。それってアートが鍵だと思うんだ。ウエブサイトみて、ちょっとワクワクしたら、連絡ください。おもしろいことしよう。

 

Take a look at our website. Ask us questions if there are any. Let me know if you find it interesting, or you think you can make it more interesting. Let's have lots of fun. In whatever the way you can think of, if you'd like to connect with us, be a part of us, let us know. Financial supports shouldn't be the only way to get a connection. There should be something else. And maybe that's art. Or maybe this way of my thinking is already an art. Anyway, let's get connected. 

 

一人目の消費者になってくれたマキノさんとキンダ/ Ms. Midori Makino who has become our first consumer & Kinda

My ignorable reality

I  don't remember well when it was that I saw two homeless men fighting on the platform at 8th avenue station of the L train in New York City. One man was holding a chain in his hand using it as a weapon and I think the other man was unarmed. 8th avenue is the terminal station of the L train. One man tried to shove the other off the track and the moment when they ended up falling over together, we heard the noise of the metro reaching. Two men both acknowledged the train's arrival and yet continued to fight. The crowd at the station observing or ignoring the fight of two men stood up looking at the train and shout "STOOOOOOOP!!!!" 

I was there just being a kind of an onlooker. The flash brightly lighted up the men down the track and the train was braked hard in front of them. Since it was the terminal station, the train was reaching in slowly so that no one was harmed. The men climbed up the track and it was the end of their fight. Maybe the whole thing had taken even shorter than 10 seconds from two men's fall to the stop of the train but it felt so long for me that as if I was watching it in slow motion. 

Today I was biking on a road near my house and saw a small crowd of baby porks crossing the road. And some seconds later, a car ran over the crowd without decelerating though having the porks in front in their gaze, and killed two of them. I heard the sound of the car squishing their bodies and their intestines were out. I stopped pedaling my bike and stood there in silence. It was my first time seeing this close someone being killed by a car. It was strong. 

I left the dead porks on the road and continued on biking. 1hour later when I came back on the same road, the carcass was no longer there. Someone might have taken them to eat at home. The road has already been returned to be usual and I couldn't tell where exactly it was that they were killed. I felt like it didn't have happened. But I know it has. I know it just because I've seen it. If I haven't seen it, I guess, it would be that the incident didn't exist for me. 

Now I'm thinking that many things in the world are the same way. Without really seeing it or being part if it, the rest of the world, except where I am, might not exist for me. And without caring about it, even if I see it, it will soon become a thing that didn't really exist in my reality. As I no longer think a lot about the incident of March 11th in Eastern Asia and as I ignore the fact that the civil war still continues in Middle East, I can just simply stop thinking about whatever and live in what I call "peace." Is that it?