Brown Earth and Coral Fossils
- May 2
- 1 min read
300-million-year-old coral fossils rising from the russet earth. I recently visited a quarry in Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture—a region famous for its crystalline limestone, commonly known as "marble."
My primary goal was to hunt for stones to use as raw material for my "Sha-ko-seki" (Light Reflecting Stone) series, which I have been focusing on in recent years. After being captivated by the marble I worked with during my residency on Langkawi Island, Malaysia, at the end of last year, I felt a strong urge to explore what Japan had to offer.
Standing in the quarry, I was immediately struck by the vastness of the landscape. It felt like stepping onto another planet—an extraordinary, Mars-like scenery. Massive white stones peeked out from beneath the clay-rich red soil, which is heavy with iron.
The marble we know today is said to have originated as coral reefs off the coast of the Philippines about 300 million years ago. Over an unfathomable span of time, they drifted toward the Japanese archipelago, eventually being transformed into white crystals by the intense heat of subterranean magma. Touching these stones while contemplating this cosmic timeline sparked a creative drive unlike anything I’ve felt before.
It was a profound experience of "Spaceship Earth." I am incredibly excited to create new works and host workshops using these gifts from the earth.
Kazutaka Shioi
Location:
Ando Sekizai Co., Ltd.
2708-1 Ominecho Kitabun, Mine City, Yamaguchi 759-2221, Japan
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