Masao Okabe

"My activities are an attempt to bring the past into the present and solidify it through my work, so that it can be passed on to the next generation. I believe this is what art is all about.” – Okabe Masao

For nearly fifty years, Masao Okabe has documented places around the world with frottage, especially those bearing historical scars. The Makinouchi naval airfield in Okabe’s hometown, Nemuro, constructed seventy years ago with the sweat and labor of forced laborers, including Koreans, serves as a runway. The artist has recorded the footprints left by these individuals, tracing their path. Footprints wearing traditional Japanese straw sandals are presumed to belong to Japanese workers, while those wearing wooden clogs are attributed to Korean laborers. Countless struggles and efforts lost in history, not encapsulated in the ""official memory"" of the nation, are resurrected through these protagonists.
*Extracted from the catalogue of Okabe Masao’s solo show Runway of Memory: From the Island of Forests to the Island of Stones held at ArtSpace·C in 2021.