UNDULATION Statement

[ Layer 1 : distant memory ] 

When I was very young, I remember seeing a black dragon dancing in the cloudy sky. It was in the precincts of a shrine on a small hill in the town where I was born, and I think I was being pulled by my mother's hand as cherry petals were falling down. The shrine was also the site of the kindergarten I attended, so it must have been either the year I entered kindergarten or the spring following my senior year. I was not even a year old when I saw the dragon, and my memory was hazy. Now I think that the dragon I saw dancing in the spring sky must have been somewhere among the magnificent branches of an old cherry tree. When I was working alone in my studio late at night in the early days of

UNDULATION, the memory of the black dragon I had seen in my childhood, which I had forgotten for decades, suddenly came back to me. I was suddenly revived. As I looked at the many random lines that I had carved on the entire surface of the work, I was seized with a strange sensation, which gradually began to assimilate with the image of the branches of the old cherry tree in my memory, and finally made me realize an absolutely clear concept regarding the meaning and significance of creation in UNDULATION, which had been faintly hidden in my mind. I had been able to see the meaning and significance of my creation in UNDULATION, which had been faintly hidden in my mind until then.

- Draw the dragon. Show the dragon. Carve the love of the dragon on it.

When I came to this thought, I could not help but burst into tears.

[ Layer 2 : Dragon ] 

I have been living in Yokohama's Chinatown for about 15 years. This town is said to be the pathway of dragons in terms of Feng Shui. In November 2015, Momo, a girl's cat that I had lived with for 15 years, departed. The night before Momo left, I looked up at the night sky from my balcony and saw the sine moon shining. Then clouds began to gather around the moon, and before I knew it, the face of a large dragon with the moon as its eye appeared in the night sky. It was a truly magical sight. On the seventh day after Momo passed away, which was a full moon, the same dragon appeared in the night sky as before. I had loved Momo so much that I was surprised at how deep my grief was, and I was also surprised at how deep it was. The dragon's eyes were kind and filled with the light of compassion. I still remember well how the pain in my heart eased somewhat when I realized that Momo was protected by the heavenly dragon.

Many people pass by each other on the streets. I knew that each of them had experienced the same kind of grief as I had at that time, and I was even more moved when I thought of the hearts of those who had unfortunately lost their own children, who in my case were cats. I felt an urge to hug each and every person I passed, male and female.

It's stupid...

[ Layer 3 : Wish ] 

The pair of spiral symbols in the upper and lower positions in my work represent the Japanese Shinto guardian dogs. The many light-like lines that flow between the guardian dogs eventually become a huge undulating mass of silence, which represents the dragon filled with loving light that rescued me from the depths of my sorrow that night in Chinatown. All the times and events I spent with people and animals who are no longer with us are a fateful and eternal connection that transcends even life and death. We believe that the mission of UNDULATION is to entrust the dragon with the universal feelings and affection of people that will never disappear, and to symbolize their hopes and wishes in each of our works, along with the emotional expression of their passion.

by UNDULATION Kwai Hana