mono no aware
kinetic toy, 2013
Mechanism
Five scences, each a story of its own.
Objects are ever-revolving around scenes.
Only half of a second do they meet each other at the destined point
before passing on and the mis-match process is ever-repeated
until the candle goes off.
"mono no aware" is derived from the Japanese word mono (物), which means "thing", and aware (哀れ), which was a Heian period expression of measured surprise (similar to "ah" or "oh"), translating roughly as "pathos", "poignancy", "deep feeling", or "sensitivity".
Thus, mono no aware has frequently been translated as "the 'ahh-ness' of things", life, and love. Awareness of the transience of all things heightens appreciation of their beauty, and evokes a gentle sadness at their passing.
(wikipedia)
Our intepretation of "mono no aware" is a tribute to beautiful creatures, scenes, events that only occured at a specific moment in life. Swiftly do they meet and depart, leaving us with awe and slight nostalgia. However, from one single story, they branch out to two, three, ten, hundreds and millions others - that might just be as fascinating.
The Scenes
Scene I: I softly landed on the piano track
Scene II: My echoes are climbing up the railway
Scene III: I only came once to your doorstep
Scene IV: Forest dress code: Absurdity
Scene V: Flocks
