flee the factory

Once home to a quarry and refinery known for its prized granite in the bustling industrial revolution of yesteryear, the island's industry has been put to quiet rest; its skeletal remains now the centerpiece for a thriving art project. And like the island's history, the people who come here, transformed as well. People I knew well in Okayama City--the construction workers, the yakitori chefs, bartenders, and storekeepers; all became dancers, musicians, and artists of every shade. Others less artistically inclined, like myself, became drunken assholes, but that's beside the point. The atmosphere was electric, but chill as the soft breezes coming off the inland sea. It wasn't so much our leaving behind the city that mattered at an event like this, but severing the rigid cultural ties and leaving behind the obligatory confines of Japanese society itself.

It really got me thinking--if this is what freedom really tastes like to all these people, what does that have to say about the kind of world we all had to return to this morning?

Here are a few photos of the night--minus the 150 or so that I hardly remember taking.

Jamboree 4 - Inujima

('full screen' option recommended)