Public installation (dimensions: stairs size 215 x 320 cm)
Materials: 300 pots of setcreasea pallida ‘purpurea’, local instant-sculptures
Utsukushigaoka Town, Yokohama, Japan, Aoba Art, 10.1 – 10.23, 2011
300 pots of Setcreasea Pallida were installed in an empty space in Utsukushigaoka Town, a wealthy residential town in Yokohama currently certified in Japan as a region with the longest life expectancy for male. Setcreasea Pallida, more widely known as ‘Purple Queen’ or ‘Wandering Jew’, is a type of weed that has a strong invasive ability and is easily propagated by cuttings. The 300 pots were exchanged with the small sculptures seen at the gate of the local houses arranged by the inhabitants. After the exhibition period, the plants were seeded in their gardens. The unfamiliar purple weed replaces the town’s familiar landscape permanently. (Setcreasea Pallida is called Murasaki-Goten in Japanese meaning Purple Mansion when directly translated.)