Statement
Majority of the roofs in Hokkaido are made of tin. Tin is also used for outer walls. I am
familiar with seeing sheets of tin materials ever since childhood as I was born to a
family who built roofs and these types of outer walls for living. Virgin tin comes in either
a roll or a sheet, and has a smooth surface with beautiful colors such as silver, red or
blue.
When I visited the city of Otaru in Hokkaido, I came across a tin wall that had not being
maintained for over forty years. The wall stood there, all blemished, rusted and faded,
and was about to peel off. I was amazed and captivated by how different it looked from
the brand new tin that I was used to seeing in my childhood. I felt beauty and a deep
emotion within the tin wall that was transfigured so drastically from immaculateness
over time.
The old and beat up tin wall not only showed the deterioration from its natural
environment, but there exists the passing of time of the people who once lived behind
the wall. As we live through the years, we experience not only happiness but difficulties
and pains as well. And this I believe: that the proof of life can only be gained when we
endure hardship.
I felt that the tin wall still exists despite changes in appearance, just like
“transfiguration.” I find beauty and the hope in living, within the transfigured wall that
resembles life itself.
Tomomi Hamada
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