Dust, Wind, Heat
2023
Dorodango (polished earth) and blown glass

This sculptural installation echoes the form of Japanese kokeshi dolls, seen in Takemoto’s video On the Line. Kokeshi were first made as children’s toys during the late Edo Period (1603–1867) in the Tohoku region of Japan, then became popular souvenirs for visitors to the area’s hot springs. Here, Takemoto’s more than 100 handcrafted kokeshi figures stand as witness to the countless lives haunted by the trauma of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Takemoto refashions the familiar figure using the Japanese art of polished dirt, dorodango. Dorodango is a slow, meditative art practice in which clay-rich dirt is shaped by hand into a sphere, the exterior then buffed until it takes on a dense, shiny shell. Dorodango shares with the wartime art of gaman (discussed elsewhere in this gallery) the ethos of using ordinary, found materials from local surroundings to create works of art. Takemoto created these kokeshi using soil from the former fruit tree orchards of nearby Montalvo Arts Center, where they had a residency in 2023. Takemoto also worked with artisans at Public Glass in San Francisco to create blown-glass kokeshi, which reflect and refract the light and complement the dark, opaque surface of the dorodango. Together, the two materials also recall the relentless dust, wind, and heat of the camps.