»Rubbing a Camel«

2010, Video installation, Bronze, 57x18x24 cm, HD video, 06:56 min.

Throughout the world people flock to certain statues that, according to legend, grant good fortune to those that touch them. In Japan people pet the "Nade-ushi" cow statues, in Italy the "Il Porcellino" statue of a boar, and in Germany the hooves of the donkey at the base of the "Bremen Town Musicians" statue. Over the years, after being rubbed by so many people, one part of these statues comes to shine brilliantly in odd contrast with the rest.
For this piece, Yamashita and Kobayashi created a bronze statue of a camel that they then carried with them as they traveled through Egypt, Spain, Switzerland and Germany, rubbing its hump every day for five months until it turned a shiny, golden color.
日本のなで牛、イタリアの幸運の子豚像(Il Porcellino)、ドイツ・ブレーメンの音楽隊像のロバの足など、世界には「触ると幸せになれる」という伝承によって、長い年月多くの人々に触られ、ある一部分が奇妙に輝いている彫刻が多く見られる。
本作品は、山下と小林が彼ら自身で作ったラクダのブロンズ像と共に、エジプト、スペイン、スイス、ドイツを旅しながら、そのこぶが黄金色に輝くまで、５ヶ月間毎日なで続けた作品である。