Earthcraft

Earthcraft takes the geology of Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, and the history of its ceramic industry as its point of departure, presenting a meditation on the symbiosis between humans and land.

The video component unfolds in virtual reality, filmed entirely within the game Minecraft. In collaboration with professional player communities, landscapes of Aichi were reconstructed alongside scenes of global ceramic products—tiles and toilets, the international airport on an artificial island, Tokoname’s renowned climbing kilns, the former Imperial Hotel, and even the Guggenheim Museum. The narration, voiced by the synthetic “Google Assistant,” adopts the role of a game guide leading viewers through these interwoven timescapes.

The installation element was realized in partnership with Tokoname’s INAX Live Museum (LIXIL Corporation), where tiles replicating those of the second-generation Imperial Hotel (completed in 1923) were produced. The structure of the installation mirrors Minecraft’s cubic architecture, stacked into a monumental seating platform. Viewers sit upon this tiled formation while watching the VR projection, simultaneously becoming part of the installation itself.

By merging the material techniques of clay with digital technologies of the cloud, the work narrates a layered history in which geology, craft, and technology converge.