ーPlease introduce yourself.

My name is Tsubasa Ako. I like going on walks. I make installations and performance art. I start by coming up with the title for a piece, then I spend a few days with that title. This is an expression method I call “Scenario.” “Scenario” happens whenever I think about things like where you’ll go next, who you’ll meet, or what you’ll do. I gather fragments from everyday life whenever I can, and use them expressively.

ーWhat would you like viewers to look at in particular?

The piece in that display case is a Japanese cedarwood medium called “mokkan.” “Mokkan” is written with the kanji characters for “tree” and “card,” and it was a writing medium that had existed since before paper was invented. Normally it was shaped like a long tablet, but I prefer round shapes, so I made them round. The boxy item in front of you that looks like a house is a book storage box. When you open one part of it, a “washi” paper memo pad will come out for people to write on. The door is also made of washi. And you’ll see some plants growing nearby. I hope you can relax as you immerse yourself in the scene.


ーPlease tell us how you came to make this piece, and the process behind it.

It goes back quite a long way. I’ve always been interested in media and the Scenario method. After the 2011 nuclear disaster in eastern Japan, I took an interest in using raw materials and electricity. Then I took that interest and started creating. I had the chance to meet with BnA and FabCafe about creating something. Paper was one medium that interested me, so I said, “All right, let’s go to Ayabe.” Ayabe [which is known for its washi paper industry] is fairly close to Kyoto, about one to two hours away from the city, so we all took the opportunity to go there. I researched washi paper, then I went to a workshop in Nara to learn about mokkan, and in my research, I found out it was made and used before paper. I researched mokkan as a record-keeping medium, as well as other media and materials, and from listening to lectures I saw how media, materials, and existence are all connected. I went to the Kurotani Washi workshop, where I heard about and actually saw those raw materials. Like, I was fascinated by the fact that all of it was made by human hands, and it was so close to me all along. So I decided to create an installation.

ーIs there something you want to convey with this piece?

I put a lot of things into this piece, different details that I haven’t talked about at this point. The biggest one, the one that signaled a realization inside myself, is the idea that various things are grown by human hands. I always knew that, but I truly came to understand it when I went to the washi paper workshop. Washi, mountains – people create as they grow. I want everyone to consider that while they view the scenery.

ーPlease tell us anything special or novel about how you made the piece.

The title of this piece conveys the simplicity of mokkan. I thought a lot about simplicity, but I also thought about making something complicated, something attractive, and I hope I’ve achieved that. As I was researching mokkan I learned that it was still used even after paper was invented, but if anything it served the role of a memo pad. Anything valuable was written down on paper. However, a lot of mokkan has been unearthed, whereas things written on paper have been lost forever. As I considered that, I thought it was fascinating to see how simple things survived, while valuable things disappeared forever. My feelings about that, and about what I wanted to leave behind, how I would do so, and about my own creations, are all in this piece.

ーThe mokkan in the piece has writing on it. Could you tell us a bit about the intent behind that?

Mokkan, paper – these written record-keeping media, as well as administrative records – all share a history, developing alongside one another. I’m using mokkan that was traditionally made from logs found in the mountains north of Kyoto. I also used Kurotani Washi paper, which is a designated Intangible Cultural Asset of Kyoto. I picked kanji that express my desire that all of us – myself, the museum visitors, people who live in this city, people who make their living making these materials – remain connected. I picked characters that I used in my piece “A?”; they’re precious words from my own life. Everyone can feel free to write on the paper, so I certainly hope you’ll observe and leave words that mean something to you.

Tsubasa Ako
a? Fê G pop (簡)
mixed media
stacks production: Konjikiyasha Studio
2023