Bronx Project

About the Work

With a bright blue sky and lacy clouds overhead, a building stands alone in an empty lot in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. In this dreamlike scene, the protruding prow of a large ship, placed high against the wall, cast a dark shadow. A mood or sense of isolation prevails. Who once lived in this abandoned building? Where did everyone go? What stories played out in these spaces where only brick, paint, and bits of wallpaper remain? Finally, what about the boat, up high and dry, and out of water?

In 1974, when Toshio Sasaki arrived in the United States, the Bronx was in social turmoil. Sasaki saw the devastation. The property was being abandoned and destroyed. People, especially the poor, were displaced and their communities destroyed. As a recent immigrant, Sasaki experienced loneliness and loss of community and family. In 1991, while making Bronx Project, Toshio Sasaki looked back to a time when he was like a ship out of water.
_{—From Brandywine Workshop and Archives records}

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