張りつく薄い寂しさ

UV inkjet print / 42×63cm, 80×120cm/ 2023-2024

For two months in late 2023, I stayed as a resident artist in Zhujiajiao, Shanghai, China. Adapting to this unfamiliar environment has been immensely challenging as a foreigner with limited Chinese language skills and mediocre English abilities. During the days when I felt intensely isolated, I sought solace in the act of creation.

With only one book from Japan in my possession, I carefully cut out pages discussing loneliness and transformed them into delicate, tiny paper houses. As someone who constantly longs for home, these houses symbolize a safe place.

Projecting my emotions onto Zhujiajiao's quiet cityscape, some of which was shuttered due to the pandemic, I discreetly placed these creations throughout the alleyways and captured photographs to document the work. In doing so, I left behind the hope that others might stumble upon them, even if just briefly, before the wind carried them elsewhere.

The work’s title, 張りつく薄い寂しさ (Haritsuku Usui Sabishisa), is intentionally left untranslated to reflect the linguistic disconnection I experienced during the residency.