Yuri Kobayashi

Rockport, ME

Force, 2007

Douglas fir, stainless steel cable and a plumb bob

18"x3"x18"

Photos by Yuri Kobayashi

This phrase, which doesn’t have an exact translation in English, suggests that the cumulative effect of many small parts, many small efforts, many small gestures adds up to a great force. In other words, the gathering of many small things—like everyday efforts, even rituals—bears fruit.

This is my belief. It was a principle I learned from a children’s story at the age of 6. The story has been living in my mind ever since, and has been informing my making and living.

In the piece titled Force, I use a plumb bob to hold the frames together under tension, using a thin cable woven throughout. But the frames, working together, hold the plumb’s greater weight. The piece begins and ends with the plumb bob, which itself is not hanging true, implying the gathered power of the many can alter the meaning of the one. – Yuri Kobayashi