SUZUKI Yuya

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SUZUKI Yuya

Participating Project	Local Emerging Creator Residency Program
Activity Based	Sapporo
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2024.1 - 2024.3

Purpose of the residency

One of the symbols of the Tokyo landscape is the narrow alley (Ro-ji). In particular, in the alleys of downtown Tokyo, flowerpots and other objects placed by residents overhang public roads to create temporary gardens, where a unique ecosystem of artifacts (objects) and nature naturally interweave to form. There, a micro-symbolic system is developed through the arrangement and composition of objects placed haphazardly by the residents. Through the staying at TOKAS, the artist will conduct a "semiology of alleys," using alleys in downtown Tokyo, mainly in Sumida Ward, as the main motif to extract latent symbolic images in the ecosystem of objects on the streets.

Plan during the residency

• Walking through the alleys of the downtown area of Sumida Ward, observing and photographing the streets
• Creating drawings based on research photographs. Extracting symbolic images from the elements of the alley space
• Examining Tokyo's alley spaces from architectural, vernacular, and historical perspectives
• Through dialogue with the curators-in-residence and guests, examining the ecology of objects on the street and the symbolic systems latent therein

Activities during the residency

The artist took photographs and made drawings through observation of traditional alleys in the Sumida area, particularly the gardening phenomena (=temporary gardens) that form between public alleys and residences. While considering the structure of the city of Tokyo, where such temporary gardens are formed, he conceived of an installation work that is formed by reconstructing the ambiguous boundary between the private (home) and the public (outside) found there, and the relationship between the micro ecosystems (plants) and artifacts (objects) formed within it, using his own unique formative language.

Outcome of the residency

During the past residency programs I have participated in, my attention was inevitably focused on exhibitions and other activities scheduled at the end of the periods, however, this TOKAS program allowed me time to deeply consider the artworks that I am creating and created in the past, since the main focus of the program was research on the process of creating artworks and mentoring sessions. In particular, I learned a great deal from the many opportunities to present my own works through mentoring sessions with the residing curators and meetings with experts such as museum curators and independent curators.
I was able to achieve most of the things I had planned to do during my stay. As for my future prospects, I am thinking of creating an installation work based on the research and works during my stay at TOKAS and presenting it in Tokyo.
For me, this residency was all about "dialogue". I had many opportunities to think over my work in "words," and try to see whether my words would be understood by others or not. In that sense, this opportunity enabled me to reconsider the relationship between artworks and words.

Creator Information