December 2, 2024. About two months after the end of the “Tomoko Konoike Exhibition: Medicine Infrastructure” at the Aomori Museum of Art, we transported “The Wolf Bench (Red)“, which had been displayed in the museum’s front garden, by ferry from Hachinohe, Aomori, to Tomakomai, Hokkaido. This was made possible with the help of artist Leo Fujisawa, who drove the bench to the ferry. Since the exhibition in Aomori was held at the northernmost point of Honshu, I had been searching for a way to “spark” the work onward to Hokkaido, across the Tsugaru Strait. When Tarumae Elementary School in Tomakomai—Mr. Fujisawa’s hometown and alma mater—proposed a new installation site, it felt like the perfect match.

The Wolf Bench (Red) was placed in the school’s newly built, light-filled library, surrounded by shelves of books. Mr. Fujisawa, a sculptor who works with steel, wood, stone, and other materials, has also long been involved in an art activity for children called “Bitokoma.” With only 18 students, the cozy library is also open to the local community.

The next morning, on December 3 at 8:30 a.m., right after the morning assembly, the principal arranged a surprise unveiling of the wolf bench to the children. They swarmed around it, touching it, sitting on it, straddling its head, and pulling its tail, giving the bench an enthusiastic welcome.

Tarumae Elementary sits within a vast forest at the foot of Mount Tarumae. Lake Shikotsu lies to the north, and the active volcano sometimes emits white steam that can be seen from the school grounds. Nearby, there is a unique gorge called “Tarumae Garo.” In winter, I walk through the bright, leafless forest of beech and white birch along the gorge. Close by, a friend who is an anthropologist at Hokkaido University has taken me to set rabbit traps, hunt deer, and gather mountain vegetables and mushrooms.

There are also unique people living at the foot of the mountain. I visited a witch-like woman who knows a lot about the flora and fauna of the forest and listened to her stories, and treated her to a delicious meal in her house. She used to run a farm, but since her legs became a bit limp, she watches the changing seasons, birds, and animals from the large windows of her house and shares with visitors the wisdom from nature that she has cultivated over the years. In return, I made finger puppets out of her old clothes. She would then give me something to give back to her, and this kind of exchange continues.

In early May of this year, about six months after the wolf bench was placed in the library, the children asked their teacher to bring the bench outside to enjoy hanami, a 100-year-old Ezo-yamazakura cherry tree in the center of the schoolyard. The Wolf Bench has become one of their buddies.

Hokkaido’s dry air and rolling, open landscapes suit me, and with each visit, I feel closer to the land and have a hunch that something new will happen here. It looks like interesting encounters await: a beekeeper, a horse breeder, the owner of a junk shop, a woman who runs a small handicraft store, a new free school, a cemetery tour, Sunazawa Bikky’s Nakagawa Experimental Forest, Hokkaido and sculptors and trees and stones, a close border, me walking the main road, a thriving grassy area beside a roadway, pioneering, and more, I also see visions of benches moving from here to the north of Hokkaido, and being relayed to people and places with which I have a connection somewhere. The work is small enough to fit in a light truck or a one-box car. If they come to pick me up, it would be easy to take the wolf bench on a journey. That is what I am thinking about.
Tomoko Konoike

>>To Konoike-san

Hello.
This morning, I had a meeting with the principal and vice principal of Tarumae Elementary School and I have just received permission from the Board of Education of the city of Tarumae.
On December 3, after the ferry arrives at Tomakomai Port, we will be able to deliver the bench to the school directly.

We will go to the elementary school at 8:00 a.m. when the teachers and staff arrive for work and bring in the bench. (temporary storage)
8:15~ Children arrive at school
8:30~ All-school morning meeting
Installed in the open space of the library during the morning meeting.
After the morning meeting, the work will be unveiled at the installation site, and Konoike-san will be introduced.
The teachers were very pleased with the work and said that they could picture the children sitting on the benches and reading books.