Erecting Hari-chan at Shinobazu Pond

Homuki Nomura continues a research project centered on the “papier-mâché duck,” a symbol of the 1949 movement opposing the landfilling of Shinobazu Pond. “Hari-chan” is the nickname of a full-scale papier-mâché replica the artist recreated based on that 1949 original. Grounded in archival research and fieldwork, the project has unfolded its research and presentations across a range of formats — mural painting, lecture performances, talk events, and workshops. So far, the artist has produced a papier-mâché figure over three meters long based on newspaper photos and period documents, created a three-dimensional work reconstructing Shinobazu Pond at 1/200 scale, and conducted on-site research into the historical relationship between Shinobazu Pond and West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Plans are also underway, in consultation with relevant organizations and local groups, to install the recreated papier-mâché figure at the actual Shinobazu Pond. Rather than simply recording or reproducing historical fact, this project uses a single object as a clue to explore how people can re-engage with the memory and history of a place. Treating research itself as an expressive practice, it examines how past events and vanished presences can be retold and shared through their relationship with people today.