Very Heavy Bag

A bag—sometimes several—lies somewhere in the exhibition, as if someone had left it behind. Very Heavy Bag reaches each visitor in up to four stages: not noticing it; noticing it; being told by the staff that it is a work and may be picked up; and lifting it, to find it heavier, perhaps, than they had imagined.

The artwork consists of heavy bags. I can create it anytime and anywhere. Moreover, the work is solely made of readymade materials, thus it looks more like a piece of “art” compared to my other works. I have to lift and move the work, so the bag cannot be made of a delicate material that would be easily torn. That is why I always use sturdy sports bags for this artwork. Whenever possible, I try to include this work in the exhibitions in which I participate.

When I was in middle school, I would look for a hollow block or a heavy-looking rock around our school and secretly stash it in the bag of my best friend, Hirano. I would watch him go home without noticing the heaviness of his bag. I enjoyed doing this little prank. One day, large fire extinguishers were newly installed in the school and I felt like secretly putting them in Hirano’s bag. I wrapped two fire extinguishers in a towel and put them in his bag. I was nervous because his bag would be so heavy that he might find out what I had done to his bag this time. “Let’s go home!” Hirano cheerfully left the classroom. On the way home, he didn’t seem to notice the heavy extinguishers in his bag, but it was obvious that the bag was pulling down one of his shoulders and his body was bent unnaturally in a dogleg shape. I was somewhat fascinated by seeing the apparent response of Hirano’s body to the heavy weight. 

As I did this prank daily, Hirano eventually acquired a heightened sense and he could detect his bag’s weight by simply touching it. He became almost always so suspicious of me that I could only do the prank a few times a year.