torusô -running man-

Photo by Ujin Matsuo

“torso” was an Italian word meaning tree trunk. Fragments of ancient sculptures with missing limbs over a long period of time, especially the torso part, were called “tree trunks.” In the old days, Michelangelo, and in modern times, Rodin saw the life of sculpture in the form of a fragmented and increased abstraction.

Also, “torso” is now a word familiar to those of us living in Japan as a word meaning “core.”

The main focus of this work is to trace that history in terms of the meaning of “words” and “materials.” It's not an exaggeration to say that Japanese sculpture is the history of wood. Let's imagine a torso with pieces of wood, then plant the sculpture in a pot and return it to the “trunk of a tree.”