The Carpet from the Sky

Mount Kailash in southwest Tibet is worshipped by Hindus and regarded as the spiritual

center of the world by Tibetan Buddhists. Because it is very sacred, climbing this beautiful

mountain is prohibited, so pilgrims, backpackers, and others can often be seen wandering

around its periphery. Ozawa initiated a project that involved collecting PET bottles which

were discarded at the foot of Mount Kailash in this inaccessible region more than 5000

meters above sea level and recycling them as art. He gathered up PET bottles which they

don’t biodegrade and remain as garbage, and sent them to a recycling plant in Tianjin, China,

where they were processed into fiber which was then woven into a carpet. The

mineral-tinged dust from Mount Kailash that remains on the bottles turned the carpet a light

beige color, highlighting problems affecting the land.

The project was later carried out in three cities, Qingdao (China), Busan (South Korea), and

Tsushima (Japan), the cities which face each other across the sea. In these cities, Ozawa

collected PET bottles that drift ashore after being carried across international borders by

ocean currents. In Luxembourg, Ozawa rode with garbage collectors and picked up PET

bottles that littered the city. In the society that demands economic efficiency, how can we

protect our environment? The journey of gathering waste makes us to consider the global

environmental issues.

The Carpet

 The Carpet from the Sky-Tibet, China, 2007

C print, carpet, video (Set)

Photo: 100 x 100cm

Carpet 30 x 200cm each (Set of 7)

 The Carpet from the Sky- Luxembourg,

2007

C print, carpet, video (Set)

Photo: 100 x 100 cm

Carpet: 261 x 177.5 cm