菊地大作

Daisaku Kikuchi

The Relationship Between Happiness and Technology in Modern Society

—Reflecting on Fundamental Human Happiness Through Life with Mongolian Nomads—

In recent years, the rapid advancement of technology has made our lives more convenient and efficient than ever before. At the same time, however, new problems such as information overload and digital dependency have emerged.

Upon turning fifty, the artist began to contemplate death and the time remaining in life. One day, after checking the smartphone’s screen time, he realized that he spent about eight hours a day in front of a screen. Simple calculation revealed that roughly one-third of his remaining life might be spent staring at a small display. Confronted with this reality, he questioned: “Is this truly how I want to live?”

Behind the comfort of technology lies the loss of “time” and “mental space.” Seeking to rediscover the essence of human happiness, the artist traveled to the Mongolian steppe—one of the environments most distant from modern technology—and lived with a nomadic family.

Life in the vast plains, almost devoid of electricity, was filled with a different rhythm and profound silence. There, he experienced the beauty of living within nature’s cycle, the importance of supporting one another, and the value of simply “being in the present moment.”

This work visualizes the “simple happiness” the artist found amid the paradox of technological convenience and its costs. At the same time, it poses a question to the viewer: “What does happiness mean to you?”