froggiesvillage is a fantasy village of mischievous, whimsical, and emotional froggies and creatures. In this show, the artist Chizuco creates a fantasy nature
environment; with ceramic froggies, anthropomorphic frog paintings, cut-out shapes of trees, leaves and a river, she has built a site-specific installation of froggies’
village where viewers can walk through and look through to find froggies.
Frog is a good luck charm in Japan. Because frogs are considered a symbol of prosperity, it is believed that wealth and fortune return (kaeru) wherever there is a
frog (kaeru).
*Frog is “Kaeru (カエル)” and also “Kaeru（
帰る),
” meaning “to return” in Japanese. Froggies in F r o g gi e svi l l a ge are standing, sitting, fishing, hiding, and
pretending to be someone else.
Growing up in Japan surrounded by mountains, green tea fields, rice fields and rivers, the artist Chizuco has also been fond of green frogs. To Chizuco, frog is also a
symbol of fertility, transformation, and mystery. By drawing frogs, she remembers their loud songs during summer nights, which now have disappeared due to
gentrification. Chizuco hopes froggies in F r o g gi e svi l l a ge brings smile to people’s faces.