1000 A4 washi cosmos squares
At Crystal Clear, Nakacho-no-Ie, 2022, and
Part of URBAN WALKS – Goethe-Institut East Asia, 2023
Laser-cut A4 washi 60 gr/m²
Dimensions variable

1000 A4 washi cosmos squares is a rhizomatic and participatory installation that unfolded across two moments in Tokyo, inviting audiences to engage through tactile, spatial, and architectural encounters. At Crystal Clear, Nakacho-no-Ie, visitors received one of a thousand delicately laser-cut A4 washi paper squares—each a fragment of memory—and were invited to transform and place it within the house. Each contribution expanded the work with a unique gesture, layering subjective experiences into a growing, living installation.

Later, as part of URBAN WALKS by the Goethe-Institut East Asia, the project continued in the context of PARK-PLATZ—a placemaking intervention that re-appropriated parking lots as public spaces in Tokyo. Here, 1000 A4 washi cosmos squares became an act of collective cartography, weaving together ephemeral moments and spatial awareness. Referencing the walking-based research of Strollology, this iteration linked past, present, and future urban narratives, transforming passive transit zones into active sites of rest, connection, and aesthetic exploration.

In both iterations, the paper squares acted as tools for embodied perception—playfully tracing paths through memory and urban morphology. Together, they formed a plateau where entropy, movement, and community merged across private and public space, rooted in tactile experience and collaborative authorship.