Breathing Earth – Susumu Shingu’s Dream by Thomas Riedelsheimer

Coming across sculptors doesn’t happen as frequently as one might think, which is weird since I’m always on the lookout for them. So, on a whim I decided to revisit an artist that I’ve researched before but didn’t have much luck stringing a post together at the time, the path went a bit stale in terms of imagery and/or a project that would be sufficient to bring him to light. That’s not saying I didn’t want to, quite the opposite in fact, so today seems like a good time to highlight him on the website and talk about a fairly recent documentary made on his work by German filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer.

Susumu Shingu is the Japanese artist that I’m talking about, who’s quite famous for his large and small wind sculptures all powered by natural energy. His passion resides in nature itself, using natural forces to give life and energy to his works, also translating the message from nature into movement. The ultimate goal for Susumu is his project ‘Breathing Earth’, hence the title of the documentary, he wants to create a meeting place for artists, researchers and visitors where everyone can talk together, in the end starting a village powered by the wind (thanks to his sculptures).

I found the short trailer film extremely touching in a number of ways, mostly because of his dream and the link with nature, his optimism was also very refreshing and I personally related to his enthusiasm at this moment in time in my own life. Often when you’re so deep in a project you lose touch of the greater meaning, so it’s nice to hear someone like Susumu speak and really shine his passion on everyone else. Plus, the pieces he creates are very special indeed and you can see his hard work has really paid off.

Director Thomas Riedelsheimer has also done a fantastic job with the filming and it reminds me of another film on artist Andy Goldsworthy named Rivers and Tides that I talked about a few weeks back. It has the same sort of feeling and vibe to it, very spiritual and empowering. I’d reccomend after you view this piece to read up on Susumu Shingu and his work in further detail, it’s great that he’s trying to create awareness of our planet and our values as humans. I hope you enjoy it and I await to see the full piece at a later date.

susumushingu.com
thomas-riedelsheimer.de
breathing-earth.de

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