SWOLLEN

We create our works with the statement, "beyond material, yet not a product," valuing the process of discovery and evolution above all else. Previously, we have created vases by welding copper plates and inflating them using hydraulic pressure, allowing the material’s improvisational and serendipitous qualities to emerge.
Through this process, we embrace the uncontrollable forces of nature, capturing the transformative moment when mere matter ceases to be just matter.
SWOLLEN, like our previous vases, is created using this technique, at the same time, it embodies the swelling of our curiosity and thrill -along with the chaos they inevitably bring.
SWOLLEN sheds its state as mere matter and exists as an undefined entity.

YOCHIYA (Yachiyo Kawana/Yoichiro Hatanaka) graduated Musashino Art University (Kawana) and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (Kawana/Hatanaka). They believe that there is something of deep significance in the process of creation. With deep respect for tradition, craftsmanship, and the wisdom and power of human hands, they focus on the ambiguous realm that lies "beyond material, yet not a product", and create artworks through observation, documentation, and experimentation from various perspectives.