The Stream Series
Films by Hiroya Sakurai
The total duration of 13 films : 74 minutes
In the man-made waterways of rice paddies, the water in nature must follow artificial rules. In that way, nature is made abstract, giving rise to a new form of beauty distinct from the natural state. The theme of this work is the liveliness of the water as it follows the man-made course.
This work is a ballet using the sound and the movement of the algae and water. With the waterway as the theater, I filmed the choreography of the algae that flows in the water.
In “The Stream XII”, produced in February 2022, I focused on rice paddies.
In the recent work, “The Stream XII-Ⅱ”, the focus of my interest is shifted to reed fields, and landscape of reed fields burned by human beings is added.Human beings act on nature in order to keep their lives. From their activities, several streams are generated and landscapes are transformed.
I focus on the beauty of transformation created through the relation between human activities and nature, and want to express the beauty as a kind of visual ballet.
2022, 04min. 55 sec.
The Stream XII-II
For the twelfth film in the series “The Stream”, I did not limit the stream to liquids, but extended it to include the air. I shot wind, flames, smoke and clouds as motifs representing the air.
I incorporated aerial shots using a drone as a way to express the wind more visually. When I shot the reeds on the banks of a big river from 80m above the ground, the reeds waved in the wind like waves on the sea. As for the flames, I shot how they created a flow of air that was accompanied by smoke. The smoke converges with the clouds in the sky and becomes rain, which in turn becomes water on the ground. In this series, I have focused on the beauty of nature juxtaposed with
the artificial. In this work, I chose the reed fields as a place that is maintained and managed by humans for the production of building materials and daily products. The beautiful landscape of the paddy fields is also a place for the efficient production of food.
In this way, I have expressed “stream” as a symbiotic cooperation between humans and nature.
2022, 03 min. 57 sec.
The Stream XII
In episode 11 of The Stream, I consider why water streams are created. Water flowing through waterways is necessary for the cultivation of crops. Agricultural products are mainly produced for human consumption and are sold and distributed in the marketplace, where crops are cultivated again with the profits are earned. It is the economy and
the distribution of goods that create the flow of water, which circulates in society through transportation and information networks.
Fields are separated by transportation networks and rivers. Waterways are laid out to transport water from rivers to farmland like blood vessels. The transportation network, which governs logistics including the distribution of agricultural products, is connected to highways and rises as a monument in a giant circle. On the highways there is a never-ending stream of vehicles traveling and circulating to maintain human society.
In addition, fields are home to a diverse range of living organisms, forming ecosystems that utilize the environment created by human society.
2020, 07 min. 50 sec.
The Stream XI
2014,05min.40sec.
The Stream X
2019, 06min. 47sec.
In episode 10 of The Stream, I tried
an experiment in which environmental sound in the water is replaced with environmental sound from outside the waterway.
As a result, the viewer experiences
the sound of the wind as
an underwater environmental sound.
The wind moves the aquatic plants and pushes along objects floating on
the water.
My purpose was to use the expression of the wind as a metaphor for
the stream and to impress the viewer with the liveliness of water, which is the theme of this work.
The Stream IX
2018, 05min. 36sec.
In episode 9 of The Stream, I focus on
the bubbles of oxygen that are generated in the waterway.
The bubbles of oxygen are generated by algae, phytoplankton and plants through photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to create their food, grow and release oxygen.
The Stream VIII
2017,06min.54sec.
In episode 8 of The Stream,I focus on the origin of the stream in
the waterway
at the rice field. The stream is produced by a man-made pump, which draws underground water to the surface and carries it to the rice field. The water in
the rice field then drains through
a huge drainage pump station that feeds into a large river.
The Stream VII
I shot this with a waterproof camera on a slider dolly . Using this device
I created a simulated experience of walking through the waterway for
the viewer.
This time I focused on the expression of the movement of the sand in
the waterway and the reflection of the surface ripples on the waterway's inside walls.
2016,05min.56sec.
The Stream VI
2015,06min.52sec.
This work is a ballet using the sound and the movement of waterweeds and water.
When editing the recording, I retained only the frequency that sounds like
a person’s voice. The resulting sound that the audience hears is like
a chorus.
The Stream V
2014,05min.40sec.
This work is a ballet using the sound and the movement of waterweeds and water.
With the waterway as the theater,
I filmed the choreography of waterweeds that flows in the water.
The Stream IV
A musical using a sound and
the movement of the flowing water.
Bubbles,waterweeds,fish and floaters are performers.
A waterproof camera was put at
the bottom of a river, and the lens was pointed in the sky.
This video image communicates both the diversity of expression and liveliness of the water.
This shooting location was Ogura-ike Pond Reclaimed Land in Uji City,Kyoto Prefecture.
The Stream III
2012,04min.03sec
I used an iPhone to film a drain hole on a bridge over a canal. Since
the iPhone's camera lens is about 2mm in diameter,
I was able to film the landscape directly below through the slits of
the drain hole. With the drain hole acting as the amphitheater, I filmed the choreography of the sand and water.
The Stream II
2012,05min.30sec.
This video is composed of the lines that are formed at the points where the surface of the flowing water comes in contact with the walls of those waterways. I have put moving images of ten different lines, each taken from a different area, in a row on the screen.
By arranging them in this way we can compare the color, shape, sound, texture and speed of the adjacent lines. This composite video image communicates both the diversity of expression and liveliness of the water as it follows the man-made course.
The Stream I
2011,04min.03sec.
This video work shooting whirlpools is constructed in double flames which are played different time. The viewers can compare the shape of water in one side of flame with another one. There are water flows formed in complex mechanism.
