Masaru Iwai presents many works that approach social structures and history through daily activities such as cleaning and purification. During his stay in Kanazawa, Iwai was interested in the relationship between minerals and water. The Kuratani Mine was once located at the headwaters of the Saigawa River, which flows through Kanazawa City. The history and materials of the closed mountain over 100 years ago are clues to our vacillation between beneficial and toxic. While the work is still under conception, some of the materials obtained through research are exhibited, inviting travelers to Kanazawa to explore the future.

Masaru IWAI

Born in 1975 in Kyoto. Lives and works in Tokyo. Iwai’s film, installation and performance focus on the mundane act of cleaning and cleansing that would reveal its underlying social and symbolic meanings. As a participating artist of one of the “Episōdo” series in the Triennale, Iwai conducts discussions with the audience and takes actions in response to the cleaning work, based on his experience as a decontamination worker. He participated in the Reborn-Art Festival in Miyagi in 2017 and “New ‘Artists Today’ Exhibition 2018 Unfixed Perspectives” at the Yokohama Civic Art Gallery in 2018.