Memory Scape – Fukuda Rondo

This artwork is located in an open court in front of the school vernada. Instead of being presented in the classrooms on first or second floor, or in the stairwells, like most of other artworks exhibited in Setouchi Art Festival, this installation is located in such an isolated corner. As an artist, I hope that this Art Festival can rejuvenate and bring new energy to this forgotten place, because a festival brings close connections among people and places.

When we store all the data and memory on a disk, does that mean our memory is safely kept? How much data actually “disappears” as soon as it’s written to the disks? We used to rely on disks for data storage and always tried to backp everything because it made us feel safe. However, technology advances rapidly and brings a revolution to storage techniques. Nowadays, rather than using disks for data storage, most people opt for USB flash drives, cloud storage or other new methods. We can predict, at the current speed of human evolution, that everything in the “present” will soon become the “past.” One day, the school, the stone industry, the disks will no longer exist. So will our memory. At this moment in time, when we still exist, how would you choose to live your life?