“Ichi, Ni! Ichi, Ni!” A rhythmic voice chanting “one, two! one, two!” is heard across the open space in a park. The voice is Tsubasa Kato’s, who was leading a group of people pulling ropes to topple a two-tothree-meter-tall structure of wooden crates. The structure gradually started tilting, before it eventually toppled. Amid rounds of cheers, people started giving high-fives. Passersby seemed both impressed and perplexed about the situation: Is this a game or a social experiment? What is the significance behind their action and these wooden crates? For the Tokyo-based artist, these collective efforts are his exploration of the balance between “the possibilities and impossibilities of public collaborations.”
Kato does not enjoy working alone. After entering the painting department at the Musashino Art University in the early 2000s, he soon realized that painting is a solitary activity. “I would come up with
