Quotations from Wind
I live in a coastal forest where the wind drifts.
The wind returns after circling the world, leaving a weary body as if lamenting the distant, unknown
world, the beauty and pain of human life,
and the transience of all things in this world, all
with a low whistling sound.
The trees in the forest, having never been anywhere, have taken root in the earth and connected to the sky, always immersed
in meditation. They record every story of the wind like analects
to be passed down forever, engraving them into their lives.
Within the passage of time woven like a net, when I discovered lines
drawn like intricate scores, I felt an indescribable emotion and thrill.
Just as the fingerprints of hundreds of millions of people are different, the Tree Resolution is unique in every way, and
reading the stories conveyed
by the wind indexed like secret codes within the Decision made me feel a sense of reverence, as if I were encountering a Buddhist scripture. I wanted to read the epic poems and melodies that
had marked my life with silence and endurance, and visualize their meaning.
So, I use the grain of wood as kenvas, set up mirrors—metaphors of the mind—at various angles,
constructing them like small stages, opening them up with panoramic three-dimensional natural unfoldings,
and coloring the flow according to the reflections and grain depending on the angle of the mirror. In some works,
mirrors are placed on the surface and back of the painted image, connecting the gaze like a Möbius strip
to create a message.
Breaking away from flat painting,
the work is staged so that each piece can be viewed from various perspectives and appreciated by the viewer.
I want to convey the impermanent Dharma
teaching carried by the wind, that the joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures that occur in the world are merely delusions formed differently depending on given conditions and relationships, or the state of mind that
interprets them.
It's been almost 20 years since I started using Namukebas, but for those ten years, I didn't intend
to make a wooden decision. It was simply an attempt to break away from the flat and seek a three-dimensional approach.
However, after moving to this seaside hill, the forest was so beautiful that while meditating,
I began to hear stories of trees and wind, and I felt an awakening to Buddha-nature
and the ancient sages who spoke of the spirit of the universe and fortune, as all things are present in the water.
My life has always been filled with work created in such ecstasy.
The Metaphor
of Mirror and the Mind Just as no image is formed unless something is placed before a mirror and is reflected,