【Sculpture】Seinen no Shozo

Ryosuke Imai's "Seinen no Shozo" is on display in Arakawa Park.
Explanation of the work
I thought about the conflict and weakness of the human spirit when I created this piece. The two figures are sculpted from a single large slab or rock to express two sides of the same person. One of them shows a way of living with power and confidence, while the other shows weakness, laziness, and lacking the strength to move forward. This duality expresses the swirling emotions within individuals and our positive negative self-perceptions. For me personally as well, although I am striving to move forward with sculpture as a means of expression in the modern era, I also sense laziness, dishonesty, and human weakness within myself. I created this work using my own likeness as a reference for the sense of self within many people. In addition, the black marble I used had an extremely interesting pattern and texture to it, so I wanted to maintain the sense of a connected whole as much as possible, and I was able to apply a variety of expression to the work through polishing it. By burying the feet within the soul, I was able to express the piece as a single human while also adding a vague sense that their feet could be standing elsewhere, and they might even be walking, creating uncertainty in their way of life.