Motoi Yamamoto “Floating Garden” Saltworks at LMU

On view now at the Laband Art Gallery at LMU in Los Angeles:

Yamamoto forged a connection to salt while mourning the death of his sister, at the age of twenty-four, from brain cancer and began to create art out of the element in an effort to preserve his memories of her. Salt, a traditional symbol for purification and mourning in Japanese culture is used in funeral rituals and by sumo wrestlers before matches. It is frequently placed in small piles at the entrance to restaurants and other businesses to ward off evil spirits and to attract benevolent ones. Yamamoto’s art radiates an intense beauty and tranquility, but also conveys something ineffable, painful, and endless.

Exhibition organized by the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina. This exhibition and its programming are made possible by the College of Communication and Fine Arts, LMU Theatre Arts program, LMU Music Department, William H. Hannon Library, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, MGS Architecture, and Moon & Associates. The salt was generously donated by Morton Salt (Newark, CA).

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First four photos by Paul Morgan

Last by Justin Lai: day one at the Laband Art Gallery, LMU