Artist Statement: Urban space represents a conflation of contexts: everyday life, history, politics, economics, law enforcement, urban planning, and the constructs of public and private spaces. In turn, a sometimes-contradictory mix of Official and Unofficial voices represents each of these contexts. Our interest is to understand how these variously related and unrelated forces both inscribe, and are inscribed by, ordinary people. As artists, we position ourselves as outsiders, knowingly subjective in our views, yet open to as many different experiences and opinions as possible. Encountering a moment of change is also to encounter a moment of potential. Perhaps we can record and reflect upon this moment of potential by asking ourselves "What Have I Lost" and "What Have I Found?"
This is a highly relevant consideration in the context of Japan in the aftermath of crisis. During their residency Sala Wong and Peter Williams have engaged in a project which has involved interviewing over 150 local Japanese people, asking two simple questions: "Please tell us what you have lost" and "Please tell us what you have found." The participants were also asked to make sketches representing each of their responses.
In the exhibition "Lost & Found in Tokyo" the lost and founds of 150 people were presented as an outcome of this project.