西岡さと子

Satoko Nishioka

Water is the protagonist of the cycle, constantly changing its form and existing all around us.
Water holds the memory of that cycle.

Panama possesses a true gift of water: the Panama Canal.
At the foot of the Andes mountains, which run like a backbone through the isthmus sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, mist hangs thick. The jungles of the tropical rainforest are perpetually humid.

Though water was thought to be abundant, severe shortages have frequently occurred in recent years.
Humans intervene in nature, bringing about change, yet the cycle continues, driven by some greater force that encompasses even these alterations. It does not trace a perfect circle along a single orbit, but rather revolves, twisted and swaying, surrounded by countless smaller, planetary-like circles. Where does it ultimately lead, or does it continue eternally?

In Panama, one feels intensely the natural cycles and the unseen forces that drive them. Fungi, plants, living creatures, structures bearing traces of history – the countless breaths they emit, and the quiet sense of dissonance that momentarily manifests there.

This work was created by listening intently to the memory of water and the whispers emanating from it.