Camellia branches sculpted to look like rebar.

The rebar is used to support concrete pillars, an everyday scene that Nakanishi often sees in abandoned buildings.

The branches, which are extremely distorted as they grow year after year under the pressure of the snowfall in Yogo, where Nakanishi lives, give the impression of strength that has endured the snow.

 

For Nakanishi, carving is an act of holding on to the 'life' of invisible time, making us feel the power it brings, and giving trees a new shape. Finding the core (shin). Sometimes it is about showing the core of the trees, sometimes it is about removing the core."

Nakanishi says that it sometimes takes several years to find the shape he needs to carve, just by looking at the trees he has on hand.

Nakanishi's work includes picking up what the core of time in front of his eyes is telling him, both subconsciously and consciously.

 

Gallery NAO MASAKI Nao Masaki