This device combines odour, sound and tactility. Within a box made of scented paulownia wood there is a silver container and a sound emanates intended to induce a sense of nostalgia.

The box is made by a craftsman using traditional techniques. The silver container, which is also a traditional Kyoto craft, contains a smell sample within the box. Paulownia boxes and silverware are traditionally used for celebrations, and the incorporation of a tactile element within the Eurydice Box construction is intended to emphasize the significance of interaction with the object by hand.

Through the act of opening the box and handling the silver container one of eight sound variations will play, the combination of this with the nostalgic smell within the box aiming to recall past memories. 

The sound is controlled by a small computer located at the bottom of the box. When the silverware is picked up by the light sensor the sounds play in a random sequence. The middle plate in the box vibrates using a vibration speaker.

This artwork is titled Eurydice Box, after the Greek myth and the necklace. Eurydice symbolizes the maternal. You may say that the maternal invokes personal and precious memories which I am hoping will occur when interacting with the Eurydice Box.

DirectorYasuaki Matsumoto
SoundSuita Tetsujiro
ProgrammerAkio Nishiyama
Kiri BoxHakodate Co., Ltd.
Silver ContainerSEIKADO
Incense tone Scenery ScentInoue Kaizen

Seirei

This video relates to the people and natural surroundings of a location in the Tohoku region of Japan. Shooting was done in spring, early summer and winter.

Images and sounds were collected that record people's nostalgic memories and these are overlapped to create the video. In the installation, these overlapping images and sounds are intended to relax people's feelings enabling detachment from everyday life. Spring water collected in the Tohoku region is placed in a receptacle in front of the projection. The viewer can see the water in the video while simultaneously touching and smelling the water in the bowl. This is a space where video, sound and water are integrated, enabling the recollection of memories.

Director - Yasuaki Matsumoto
Photography, Recording - Yasuaki Matsumoto
Sound Editing - Tetsujiro Suita
Cooperation - "Gibatte Tarusawa 70", "Hisao Nakazato", "Mina Oyamada", "Children of Ninohe City", Ninohe City Industry Promotion Department - Commerce and Tourism Distribution Division

Yasuaki Matsumoto