“ I came to Australia 25 years ago. I’m originally from Japan and I’m a Tweed Heads based artist. I have a history though with Lismore. We worked together in 2015 on a project called Art Magic with this wonderful diverse community, REDinc, schools, kindy’s, nursing homes, altogether 30 different community groups.
On a personal level, my husband who I married 25 years ago and my Australian family are originally from Lismore. We did a 2 year caravan trip with children on a regional art project and while we were travelling we were wondering where we would like to settle. We chose the Northern Rivers Bundjalung area 10 years ago to raise our family.
When this last devastating flood happened, the way we respond as a Japanese person to a natural disaster like this is to get together and help each other. My husband and I came straight after the flood to clean and worked directly with Lismore Regional Gallery. We brought the gurney and food and as the weeks went on I asked how I could help more, perhaps there was charity work that I could do. That’s how this project started.
The LRG were successful in getting funding to create this beautiful art project working with community and facilitators. My motive was never for money. It was…What can I do to take this healing journey together with the Lismore community? The recovery journey is a long term journey and for me this is just the beginning. I want to be part of it and I want to visit Lismore whenever the opportunity comes.
Many people say Lismore is a very special place and it is. It’s a spiritual place and with these natural disasters, they are devastating but it makes a strong community. Getting through such a challenging time we feel each other. It’s non verbal, our hearts are open… I have to be very careful what I say because I don’t live here and I did not personally experience the flood. All my artwork was flooded and my region was flooded but for me, I did not lose everything and my heart is very heavy with Lismore.
I have spoken to many community members and they haven’t been able to establish a safe space and it’s over a year now. I always question what I can do and I realise I need to listen very carefully. It’s a sensitive process and through this experience working together on this project, Hiromi Hotel – Rainbow, we feel that the community is ready to engage in art activities. It might not sound logical if you still don’t have safe space and you don’t need to think about the art. Hotel is a French word for hospital — a space to heal so it really is Hiromi hospital. It’s not about me but I want to be responsible so I used my name. It’s funny really, the Hiromi Hotel. It’s a caring space.
We ask community members to donate unused furniture or broken furniture and we fix them to pass on. We might weave a chair together. We have a donated bed which is the base for one of the artworks here. All the materials in the installation are donated.
Hiromi Hotel started organically and we were given this pop-up space here in Magellan St temporarily and unfortunately this exhibition has to close at the end of this week. The community here would love to continue the project so we are looking for anybody who has an empty shop in town. We are very flexible so if you can only let us have it for one month or 3 months, great! We can move but we would be so very grateful for a space.
During times of crisis we need everyone’s help to build stronger community. We hear such awful news everyday. My project is based on the research of Neuroscience and health and art. I am not a health professional but much research has been done on the effect of colour and art on the soul. It is a safe and nurturing project for the heart and for mental health as well. I am committed from the bottom of my heart.
I’m really grass roots type so I’m not asking for financial donations but please share what you have and what you can afford such as time. I don’t want anyone to over commit. I want the people of Lismore to have a break, like a gentle cup of tea. That’s my goal.”
