Daikanyama Museum:Tom and Daikanyama

23 November - 16 December 2001
Presented at the Daikanyama Installation 2001
Hillside West, Tokyo, Japan

For Daikanyama Museum: Tom and Daikanyama, I created a museum that traces the life of a Daikanyama-based gentleman nicknamed 'Tom' on the basis of a series of interviews with him. The video installation showed extracts from the interviews while the photographs introduced Tom and his family. All the displayed objects belonged to Tom: his favourite cap; a tin he had kept since the time of his marriage; a model aeroplane; a plant pot that had been in his shop ever since it opened; and a chair used by his two daughters and grandchildren.
The interviews with Tom centred on what he had to say about Daikanyama, but also included some episodes from his childhood, his move to New York to become a photographer, his opening a sandwich shop in Daikanyama, his meeting with and marrying his wife, as well as his family and dreams for the future. This project brought out the overlaps between Tom's personal history and the local history of Daikanyama, articulating the relationships between an individual and his region.

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