My Town Inagi 2022 Akiko Ikeuchi

Akiko Ikeuchi in performance

Ikeuchi, who is from Inagi, is creating works using silk thread and has been attracting attention around the world. When asked about his memories of Sakahama, where he spent his childhood, he said, Hatsuuma ( ) "I remember making handmade flags and making offerings to the local Inari shrine, and strolling along the rice paddy paths, playing the grass flute and admiring the mysterious way the water springs up, never looking the same even once. I also remember the time when the town sparkled and shone on festival days, such as the Dondoyaki festival and the children's mikoshi festival, and how the atmosphere was transformed into something sacred and special."
Ikeuchi, who spent his childhood like this, has created some of his most representative works by stretching silk threads across a space, tying and cutting the threads, and suspending them in mid-air. The suspended threads gradually change color in response to light, sway with the movement of the air, and expand and contract with humidity. When someone approaches to look at the threads, they sway, and the moisture in the person's breath causes them to slacken downwards. When the person leaves the area, the swaying quietly stops, and the threads regain their tension and emerge. These delicate changes are what make Ikeuchi's works so appealing.