On July 7, 2018, Korean musician BomNunByeol (봄눈별) joined The Branch’s Patrick Lydon (art film) for the premiere of their live music and film meditation concert.
Event Recap: Song for Summer Trees
The Branch: Before & After
When we began planning The Branch project here in Osaka, we made a firm decision that we would design and build as much of it as possible ourselves. This was not just to contain our costs (although it did), but because we wanted to begin a transition away from our society’s over-reliance on industry and the capitalist mentality, and instead to engage in the spirit of smallness, regeneration, relationships, sharing, giving new life to old things, and just generally living lightly on the planet.
As a result, most of the materials used in this project were salvaged from old homes that had been torn down, and all of the work was done by our own hands and those of like-minded volunteers who are happy to build and enjoy an active community space together with us.
With that, here’s a look what has transpired here over the past five months…
Exhibition Recap: Heeyoung Park
Our second artist in residence, Heeyoung Park focused on some very introspective works, and in looking so closely at the self she inevitably brought to life observations about our connections with the nature and universe around us.
Exhibition Recap: Jeongran Choi
Our first artist in residence at The Branch, Jeongran Choi brought with her, some painstakingly created works of otchil (natural lacquer) and enamel, however she also packed our small gallery full of tiny drawings, most of them gifts for anyone who stopped by to take home.
Construction Update – December
It’s a brisk Winter morning in Osaka, and I’m jumping on a bike, headed to a warehouse down the street that is filled with used wood. A saw, square, a notebook with some scribbles and measurements, and a few other tools are in the bike’s basket…