The story of the people surrounding the band

――Please tell us again about the concept of this exhibition, "Secret Garden".

haru.: We are creating an exhibition space by envisioning the band Hitsujibungaku as a "garden" and the staff and creators who cultivate it as "gardeners". When I was thinking about the concept, I just happened to know about "The Moving Garden" by French gardener Gilles Clément, and I thought that "garden" was a good theme.

The garden is tended and nurtured by the gardener, and the band is just like a garden. Members and creators add their hands to it every day as gardeners. But it's not completely up to human will, and sometimes a storm comes and messes everything up. Still, by cultivating it together with everyone, it will lead to the future. I was hoping that the whole process could be expressed in the theme of "Secret Garden".

Also, I myself originally liked "engawa" (verandas), and I felt that the garden was a similar space. It's not as personal as the inside of a house, but it's not completely public like a road or a square. I thought that intermediate state was just right.

――How did this exhibition get started in the first place?

haru.: At the end of last year, New Gallery contacted me. When I was asked to create an exhibition based on the album, I was really troubled. The album itself is already a finished work, so I wondered what I should make based on it.

But when I think about it again, the album jacket is also an act of creating something creative for a finished product called a song, so it's the same as this exhibition. I always make jackets with the intention of "dressing the music in the best clothes", but I realized that I could make an exhibition in the same way. From there, the theme of "The Story of the Gardeners Surrounding Hitsujibungaku" emerged.

――How did you come up with the specific content of the exhibition?

haru.: It was decided that we would create works by freely expanding our interpretation of each of the 12 songs included in the album. I read the liner notes that Moeka wrote for me and thought about it, but it was difficult to figure out what to make for the finished songs...I had many meetings with the HUG members over and over again.

――The booklet distributed to visitors at the venue actually includes words and pictures that haru. imagined from the music.

haru.: This was also the rough draft for each artist to ask for. When I thought about how to make the space interesting, I came up with a lot of wild ideas, such as a bat with hair growing on it and a tornado...I was worried if it would be accepted, but fortunately, all the members enjoyed it.

――In a sense, it's like a secondary creation.

haru.: That's right. So, I was really worried about how the fans would perceive it. But my interpretation is just an example, so I would be happy if people could think, "It's okay to have such a free way of listening."