October 19, 2024.

 

Live street painting performance in the heart of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

 

Amsterdam is the center of the Netherlands and one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world.

We performed in the midst of a huge crowd of tourists.

 

Under cloudy skies, we were able to successfully open and close the festival in this lively and exciting city.

Thank you very much.

 

As it turns out, the event was held at two locations in the center of Amsterdam.

 

The first one was on the big bridge in front of Amsterdam's central station.

The bridge is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, and was crowded with a huge number of tourists.

 

There were many more people of different races and ethnicities than when we held the street art in front of the IND the other day.

 

There was some kind of parade on the main street, and several large trucks passed in front of us with smoke billowing into the air and blasting noise. The backs of the trucks were like large rooms with live DJs, musicians, and dancers performing.

I found myself naturally reminded of the movie “Mad Max: Death Road of Fury,” though not quite so similar.

 

There were also many people around me enthusiastically proselytizing their religion to the overflowing crowd of tourists.

Some of them came up to me and asked, “Do you believe in God?” I was very impressed by their enthusiasm.

I was surprised to see so many different kinds of people living in this world. Everyone sees the world through their own world. They are alive.” I knew this in my head, but this experience made me strongly aware of it.

Noise and crowds.

A wide variety of smells, languages, and cultures.

I felt that the work would be strongly affected by the obvious information overload, so I decided to change the location.

 

I re-executed the work in front of the National Monument, which was about a 15-minute walk away.

The huge white sculpture standing tall and jutting into the sky was a memorial monument for the war dead of World War II.

 

I painted in front of this monument, praying for world peace.

From time to time, people came to talk to me and stare at my paintings.

 

What was impressive at this time were some of the children who bravely came to talk to me.

 

At first she spoke in Dutch? French? But as soon as she read my “I'm sorry, I don't understand...” expression, she immediately spoke to me in English.

She praised me with direct words, body language, and her big smile.

She was able to immediately switch to English and have a conversation at an age not yet in the double digits.

And I was struck by the way the girl expressed with her whole body that she was “now moved".

She even threw in some money as a matter of course.

I am grateful and respectful.

 

Ahead of where I was painting was the “dam square".

Originally, there was a dam at this place, and the city that developed around this place through fishing and other activities is now Amsterdam. (The water of the river called “Amstel River” used to flow into this dam. Amstel + dam = Amsterdam)

 

Although it was such a historic place, there were demonstrators from the Palestinian point of view who were loudly complaining about the war between the Palestinians and Israelis.

I silently painted a picture while listening to the ongoing war protests in front of the Monument of Peace.

 

I found myself falling into deep thought.

The fact that many people have died in the past and continue to die in the present due to the wars that continue to erupt in various parts of the world.

 

The wonder of human beings who can slaughter each other for the sake of mutual justice, even though we are all the same people, all connected somehow. And the destruction of the natural environment.

I believe that world peace is a very big task that is essential to achieve both for mankind and for the environment of this planet.

 

I am determined to contribute to these issues through my art/expressive activities.

I believe that I can make a contribution.

 

I also believe that by leaving a written statement like this, I will be able to gently place “world peace” in the hearts of those who read it.

This activity made me strongly reaffirm the goal of my art activities.

 

When I think that I left my first live painting location to paint at this place, I feel as if I was guided by some great presence.

 

With a prayer for peace.

I will paint somewhere again today.

 

Thank you very much, everyone in Amsterdam.

Thank you for reading this far.