Inside the museum, bags are placed here and there. Are they forgotten belongings? Suspicious objects? The work begins with the viewer’s imagination, triggered by a bag that catches the eye at the edge of one’s vision or lingers in the back of the mind.

The realization that the bag itself is the artwork—and that this artwork weighs 30 kilograms—leaps over the usual stages of recognition we have toward an object left in public space: ignoring it, merely acknowledging its presence, or speculating about its contents or weight.

When one actually tries to lift the bag, the discrepancy between the expected and actual weight becomes tangible. Through this physical experience, the viewer verifies and connects different points of recognition within themselves. In doing so, the work prompts the imagination of what cannot be seen, turning the encounter into a uniquely personal experience.

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.