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Seven Stories

Naphthalene is a synthetic material most commonly found in mothballs, which are used to repel moths from household closets. Aiko Miyanaga creates molds of things such as shoes, shirts, dresses, and butterflies and casts them in naphthalene. The delicate, aromatic objects are identified with a handmade label and placed in vitrines. Over the course of the exhibition the objects slowly evaporate from exposure to the air. The naphthalene collects on the inside of the vitrine forming crystalline shapes that signify the ephemeral nature of all things.

Naphthalene is an important chemical in Japan, as it is elsewhere in the world.  Many Japanese households change out their winter clothes and linens to be replaced by summer items and vice versa.  This annual fall and spring ritual is accompanied by the pervasive odor of naphthalene. It is indeed ironic that the very chemical that is used to preserve something else, is, itself quite short-lived.

For her installation entitled Seven Stories at the McColl Center, Miyanaga has created an array of mysterious objects for viewer contemplation.  These narrative fragments are spread throughout the historic building the McColl Center occupies.  There are six objects, each with a particular set of associations, placed strategically in the building.  The “seventh story” is to be provided by each individual viewer as they contemplate the works, their context within the building, and themselves in relation to the work, the building, the environment, their mood, etc.  In this way, the artist has created a dynamic and interactive work that engages all of the senses.  For example, one of the six works is a ceramic bowl created by the artist.  She researched various glazes and came up with a special glaze that will continue cracking as the pot ages and is exposed to various changes in temperature, humidity, etc.  As the glaze cracks, it makes a distinct cracking sound.  Thus, the artist is tangibly demonstrating that all things change all the time.  Nothing is fixed.

The naphthalene works are obviously ephemeral, and their life span is only a matter of weeks.  The artist is not concerned with the fact that her work does not last.  In fact, she states that this is entirely the point. Her work is about impermanence and the passage of time.  Miyanaga’s wish is for visitors to come away from her work with a greater appreciation for the people and things that surround them at this moment because all of this will change.  She states that, “the most important things are not those that happen before your eyes, but, behind them.”

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