Hoshi ni Negaiwo (Wish Upon a Star)

It had been four years since I had used a cross in my work. 
To me, a cross means fellowship.
Heaven and earth, past and present, person and person…
To share in fellowship is like praying while creating values.
While ostensibly a landscape, the piece also transforms itself into a kind of altar.
This karakami was created for someone’s personal and private space. My hope was that it would become the ultimate sacred place in this world for that person.

Crosses connect one side to another. The cross in this piece evokes not only a two-dimensional expanse, but also a universe that can be seen as three- or four-dimensional. I wanted the left and right spaces to be prominent in the foreground and for the light flowing from the cross to fill the hearts of viewers. 
There were several other patterns that I wanted to incorporate in this piece, but I finished it without including them. In the end, although they may not appear visibly, they are far from absent, and the work is filled with lingering thoughts and the fluctuations of the spirit. The more something is stripped away, the more its atmosphere and texture are explored. 

Karakami-with-presence is the ultimate form of beauty that I am aiming for.
When facing this work, I once again felt a strong desire to master a way that no one had ever travelled before.

Autumn 2021
Karakami Artist Toto Akihiko