Towards a Beautiful Country, 2017


「あの言語は言語のように聞こえる」、Edel Assanti、ロンドン、2017での展示風景
撮影：Studio Will Amlot
写真提供：Edel Assanti, ロンドン
Installation view "That Language Sounds Like a Language" at Edel Assanti, London, 2017
Photo by Studio Will Amlot
Courtesy of Edel Assanti, London

美しい国へ

2017, ネオンチューブ（670mm x 1,200mm）
日本最大政党であり、保守主義を掲げる自由民主党に属し、内閣総理大臣を務めた安倍晋三が書いた著作「美しい国へ」は2006年に書かれ、たちまちベストセラーとなった。いわば、第二次大戦での日本降伏ののちGHQによる占領下で出来上がった日本国憲法、およびその他の政治システム（戦後レジーム）からの脱却が必要だと説きながらも、戦後以降脈々と続きすでに日本国民にとっては内面化されてしまった対米政策（米国への従属関係）においては何一つ明確な打開策も持たない感情的なプロパガンダと言える。この作品はネオンシリーズの延長上として、安倍晋三の著作タイトルを英語に直訳し、また手書きのスケッチをもとにネオン菅を制作した。安倍晋三が主張する戦後レジームからの脱却と民族主義などの右翼思想を、それを言わせることになった歴史背景である英米圏へと放り込む。

Towards a Beautiful Country
2017, Neon tube (670 mm x 1,200 mm) 
The book Towards a Beautiful Country by Shinzo Abe, who served as the Prime Minister of Japan and is a member of Japan’s largest political party Liberal Democratic Party that has a conservative principle, was written in 2006 and quickly became a best seller. It is a so called emotional propaganda that does not have any clear breakthrough in the policy towards the United States (subordinate relation with the U.S.) that has already been internalized for the Japanese people since the end of World War II, even though he says that it is necessary to break away from the postwar regime, such as the national constitution of Japan which was issued under the military occupation of America after Japan’s surrender in WWII and other political systems that were established that time. In this work, Niwa creates a neon work from his hand-writing sketch of the direct English translation of Abe’s book title as an extension of his neon work series. Niwa throws out the right-wing ideology advocated by Abe, such as the breakaway from postwar regime or nationalism, to the British and American regions which were the historical background that made Abe say this ideology.

Review ArtAsiaPacific (Hong Kong) Review This is tomorrow (UK)
Related works We’re heading to the place where nobody wants to go by the will of all, 2016 Related works De-mo-ne Neon Sign, 2012 Related works Hesitating Neon Sign, 2011 Related works Permitting Neon Sign, 2010