Artist Statement
by NAGAOKA Kazumi

I create works in terracotta.

Drawing inspiration from the passage of time and fragments of memory, I give form to a world that steps slightly beyond the everyday, while gently gathering the presence embedded in local climates and the rhythms of daily life.

In works that employ cloud motifs, I find both transience and permanence in their ever-changing forms. Clouds also reflect the fluctuations of the mind; as overlapping faces emerge, they become imbued with emotion, transforming from mere landscapes into entities with a narrative presence.

At times, forms arise from fundamental acts such as repetition and iteration, as I expand ideas rooted in indigenous origins. Processes such as stacking clay infused with air, carving, pointillistic marking, and rubbing gradually become moments of turning inward, attuned to the breath of the material itself.

With this sensibility, I approach each work by focusing on the present moment. As elements are distilled and take shape, the contours of themes and landscapes begin to emerge from the completed works. In recent years, multiple personas have started to appear within a single piece—works that connect the visible world with another realm.

For this exhibition, under the theme of “connection,” I present both new and past works, in the hope that viewers may perceive a continuity of time extending from the present into the past. I also hope that these woven fragments may come together to share new narratives and landscapes. I would be delighted if you could view these works alongside the expressions of low-fired clay.