10年前に制作した銀座を巡検しています
2007年に制作した作品「銀座フロッタージュ計画」は、当時の銀座の街をフィールドに、制作に協力してもらえる店舗、施設などで実際にフロッタージュ制作を行った活動です。その活動から10年経った今回、銀座たてもの展実行委員会からワークショップのお誘いを受け、10年前に制作した場所が現在どうなっているのかと思い、計画を継続させる新たな企画を考えました。
この企画は、当時制作したモノや場所のその後を自分が追うことで、10年前と現在をつなぎ、変化するまちを記録するものです。現存するものはその後の10年を、現存しないものは新たな店舗で制作した作品として生まれ変わります。そして古い場所と新たな場所を作品を通してつなげていきます。
中央区まるごとミュージアムに参加します。
銀座フロッタージュ計画2007ー2017プロジェクトの経過報告と作品展示
日時：2017年10月29日(日） 10:00〜17:00
場所：銀座レトロギャラリーMUSEE（東京都中央区1-20-17） HP
入場無料
銀座フロッタージュ体験
空襲を逃れたビルの外壁タイルの写しとりワークショップ
時間：13:00〜14:30 （事前申込み 先着10名）
場所：銀座レトロギャラリーMUSEE（東京都中央区1-20-17） HP
主催／問合せ先：銀座たてもの展実行委員会 ginzamikke@sakao-lifeworks.com
Koichi Sakao's artistic practice centers on the concept of frottage, a technique that involves rubbing surfaces to capture the textures and histories embedded in urban environments. The Ginza Frottage Project, originally undertaken in 2007, documented the streets of one of Tokyo's most iconic districts through direct contact with its buildings, storefronts, and public spaces. By engaging local businesses and community members, Sakao transformed the city itself into both subject and collaborator. This method of rubbing creates intimate, tactile records of places that are constantly in flux, preserving fleeting details of architecture and daily life that might otherwise be lost to redevelopment or the passage of time. Each rubbing becomes a unique artifact of a specific moment in the city's ongoing story.
A decade after the original project began, Sakao revisited the same locations to examine how Ginza had changed. Some buildings remained intact, bearing the subtle marks of ten more years of weather and use. Others had been replaced entirely by new construction, erasing the surfaces once recorded. For these lost sites, Sakao created new frottage works at the businesses that took their place, linking past and present through a continuous thread of artistic practice. This longitudinal approach allows viewers to consider not only the physical transformation of the city but also the evolving relationships between people, commerce, and public memory in one of Tokyo's most dynamic neighborhoods.
The project's public engagement component invites participants to experience frottage firsthand, connecting them directly with the built environment. Workshops allow visitors to rub surfaces of historic buildings that survived wartime air raids, creating their own records of Ginza's layered history. This hands-on approach demystifies the artistic process and encourages a deeper awareness of the textures and materials that surround us daily. Participants discover how ordinary walls, tiles, and pavements carry stories of craftsmanship, weathering, and survival. By making these marks visible and tangible, Sakao's workshops foster a sense of shared stewardship for the city's architectural heritage and the memories it holds.
Sakao's broader body of work extends beyond Ginza to other communities through projects that explore regional identity, water systems, and collective memory. Initiatives such as the Green Room Project and the Niigata Water Memory Project demonstrate a sustained commitment to site-specific research and community collaboration. Each project adapts the frottage technique or similar tactile methods to the unique character of its location, whether rural, coastal, or urban. This consistent methodology creates a cohesive artistic vision while allowing each place to speak through its own materials and histories. Sakao's practice ultimately serves as a reminder that our surroundings are not static backdrops but active participants in the stories we tell about where we live.
