Single channel HD video of a two channel video installation; 3:53
Aokigahara is one channel of a two channel video piece, Aokigahara | Nara, that documents two different places in Japan, both known for their intense energy, one positive and one negative. The video pieces are projected large scale on walls at opposite ends from each other in a large room. They are separated by a tall wall running down the middle that stops a few feet short of the ceiling with a door connecting the two spaces, allowing the sound to overlap between both pieces.
Aokigahara is a dark, thick forest situated at the base of Mount Fuji, born from the last lava flow there in 864 and is known as a site of fierce negative energy. Legend says it was also once a place where obasute, leaving old people in the wild to fend for themselves, was practiced. Later it was made famous by a story in which two lovers commit a suicide pact there. Today, Aokigahara is the number one spot for suicide in Japan.