aluminum
The Void series, including this work, reflects the nature of existence. Each piece holds a void within, while its surface is marked and discolored by corrosion. These works suggest that the world is already full and always in motion. Although not pursued consciously at first, this direction has naturally connected to the ideas of kū (emptiness), mujō (impermanence), and traditional Japanese views of nature. Through this work, I seek to confirm, with my own body in relation to the material, how existence appears and how it connects with what surrounds it.
In the making process, I step into a space formed from aluminum sheets. From the point of my body, I push outward, raising volume from within. When the work is too small to enter—small enough to be covered by my body—I remain outside, and the form swells toward me. In this way, the inner space becomes a void, its shifting outline gaining presence over time. These gestures express what it means to exist in a world already full, and the void-like quality that accompanies such existence.
If the world is already complete, then to exist is always to be in relation with one's surroundings. For me, kū does not mean "empty" as in nothingness, but a state that contains the potential for all change. Through sculpture, I trace these conditions of existence and present them as tangible fact.
– Hongo Yoshiya
