--Please tell us about this work.

Thoughts and fantasies swirl around in my head, and beyond them, hope slowly begins to emerge. Traveling between inside and outside, city and nature, imagination and reality,

I incorporated the image of a heart's journey, which is uncertain yet steady. This work embodies the new existence that is born from within oneself and the process of nurturing it.

Why did you decide to exhibit this work?

First of all, I wanted to make a big face appear in the middle of the city of Marunouchi. I made it in bronze so that it could withstand outdoor exhibitions, but I wanted to make a work that would better convey the fact that it was originally born from a single big tree.

While facing the camphor tree as a prototype, I decided on the shape without creating a clear image of the finished product. It is not straight, but rather grows at an angle, because I wanted to preserve the original shape of the tree. The way it grows upwards, even while leaning, represents the uncertainty and softness of the process of growth, and the prayer that there is a certain hope. The golden vortex-like ring is a part that has been roughed up with a chainsaw, but still retains most of the original thickness of the tree, and contains the meaning of a "boundary" where invisible things such as past memories, chaos, the noise of the city, and inexpressible emotions swirl. Not only in this work, but all the camphor trees I usually deal with are large trees that have existed in this world much longer than us. Before carving them down with a chainsaw, I always can't help but think about the life that the tree has lived so far. As a work of art, I wanted to breathe new life into it, but also to preserve something like the life of the tree, so I created a work that allows people to feel the original tree more. The process of carving out a large tree like a canvas and using a chainsaw and chisel like a brush is similar to the image of painting a picture. On the other hand, this time I was conscious of various things and created a shape that could convey the unchanging strength of bronze.

--What are the highlights of your work? How would you like passersby to view it?

My work is often described as reminiscent of forest fairies or gnomes, but I grew up in a city with little greenery. Therefore, I have continued to create work that seeks the presence of something "suddenly appearing," where the forests and nature I imagine in my head mix with the chaotic cityscape, where fantasy and reality intersect. This time, I was given the opportunity to exhibit in an open outdoor space in the center of the city, like Marunouchi Street, so while I was trying something new, I thought I should go back to the origins of my work, and developed my own series that creates the image of something "suddenly appearing" from the ground.

This will be the first outdoor sculpture in Japan, so I am looking forward to seeing how it will look different under various environmental changes such as season, time, weather, etc. I would be happy if it could empathize with the invisible loneliness of those who pass by busy, those who spend their time leisurely, the occasional child, and those walking through a bustling and glamorous city, and provide an opportunity for them to think about themselves, even if only a little.