終点の先へ

瀬戸内国際芸術祭2016 / 恒久設置 / JR宇野駅,玉野市,岡山県

JR岡山駅から列車で南に1時間。海が見えたら、そこは終点の宇野駅だ。
かつてはこの先にも線路が続いていた。
宇高連絡船。線路が搭載された船に列車ごとズドンと乗り込み、瀬戸内海を渡って高松駅に繋がるという「海の鉄道」が存在していた。瀬戸大橋ができて間もなく、宇高連絡船は需要が減り幕を閉じることになったが、現在もこの港町では様々な当時の面影に出会うことができる。
そんな宇野の街巡りや島巡りに、連絡船に見立てた10台のレンタサイクルを。この地で一度「道具としての終点」を迎えた鉄たちを集め、熱して叩き、実際に乗車できる自転車に再生させた。塗装色は連絡船の色、後輪上の文字は船名を示している。

Beyond the Last Stop

Setouchi Triennale 2016 / Permanent / JR Uno Station, Tamano, Okayama, Japan

1 hour south by train from JR Okayama Station. When you see the sea, it’s Uno Station, the last stop.
In the past, the railroad tracks continued beyond this point.
Uko Railroad Ferry. There was a “sea railroad” where each train boarded a ship equipped with railroad tracks and crossed the Seto Inland Sea to connect to Takamatsu Station. Shortly after the Seto Bridge was built, the demand for the Uko Railroad Ferry was reduced and closed, but even now, you can still see various remnants of that time in this port town.
In order to enjoy the Uno city tour and island tour, I made 10 bicycle rentals that looked like a railroad ferry. Irons that reached the “end point as a tool” in this town were collected, heated and beaten, and regenerated into a bicycle that can actually be ridden. The paint color is the color of the ferry, and the letters on the rear wheels indicate the ship name.