KUWAI HANA

Ryutai

Creating a state where art exists within everyday life itself

In *UNDULATION*, the dragon—or dragon deity—is one of the most important themes. This work is an attempt to bring the dragon—a presence that has taken on various forms within the “DRAGON” category—into this world as a three-dimensional sculpture with a distinct, tangible form.

By cutting a thin metal pipe into numerous short segments and joining them together while giving each a slightly different angle, the work depicts a dragon undulating its body, coiling itself, and ascending from the darkness toward the heavens. Although each segment is an independent piece of metal, when connected, they create an unbroken flow of movement, imbuing the rigid material with a soft, living energy.

The joints of the connected pipes are both the scales of a dragon and the accumulation of time.The traces left by the repeated acts of cutting, setting angles, and welding become the very rhythm that constitutes the dragon’s body. The light running across the metal’s surface constantly shifts depending on the viewer’s position and the surrounding brightness, lending the dragon—which should be stationary—a sense of movement, as if it were writhing at this very moment. The material that shapes the work, the time spent creating it, and the physical repetition all overlap, emerging as a rising trajectory of life.

Ever since I was a child, I have been deeply drawn to dragons. At the same time, for some reason, I have always felt that the dragons, too, have found me and taken a liking to me. It is not just that I seek out dragons; the dragons, too, call me to them. This mutual attraction has taken root deep within my memories and senses over a long period of time, becoming one of the sources that shape the world of my work. This piece embodies both my reverence for the invisible presence of dragons and the personal, intimate bond I have shared with them since childhood.

The dragon is a being that moves freely between different realms—earth and heaven, water and sky, matter and spirit, the everyday and the sacred. In this work, the dragon’s undulating motion is not merely a physical form. It is a flow of energy that rises while connecting different layers of the world, and it is also the trajectory of a prayer heading toward a place beyond human perception.Darkness does not conceal the dragon’s form; rather, it is a space that evokes its presence. In the deep darkness, only the metallic scales catch the light, and the dragon god emerges in silence.

At the same time, this work is not merely a sculpture meant to be viewed. It can also be used in daily life as a flower stand by placing vases or plants on its top, thus incorporating the qualities of a piece of furniture. However, this functionality is not merely a supplementary element added to the sculpture. As people touch the work, place objects on it, and continue to use it in their daily lives, a new sense of time and a new relationship between the work and their lives gradually emerge. It is only by embracing this relationship that the work is truly completed.

When used as a stand to support flowers, the dragon appears to rise from the earth, carrying the life of the plants upward toward the heavens. Flowers change with the seasons, eventually withering and being replaced by new ones. While embracing this change, the metal dragon remains steadfast, unchanging. Through the intersection of fleeting life and enduring matter, nature and artifice, function and symbolism within a single space, the work is liberated from a fixed meaning and begins to reveal a different expression each day.

Art does not exist solely within museums and galleries; rather, it is about creating a state where art is present in everyday life from the very beginning. This, too, is one of the major missions of “Undulation.” Rather than isolating art as something special that exists outside of daily life, we integrate it into the simple acts of arranging flowers, placing objects, and spending time in the same space. By blurring the boundaries between viewing and using artworks—between appreciation and daily life—we quietly transform everyday life itself.

The Dragon God, writhing in the darkness as it ascends to the heavens, is a sacred being—yet at the same time, a presence that stands alongside human life. Rather than separating the transcendent from the mundane, this work seeks to have them coexist within a single artistic form. The aim of this piece is not merely to depict the Dragon God; it is to create a space where we live alongside the Dragon God, opening a gateway within our daily lives to a world invisible to the eye.

◯ Height: 860 mm