Sanctum. A room inside a room. (2025)
Nakanojo Biennale, Japan
artist statement below
Sanctum is an immersive installation set within a traditional Japanese room built inside another room. This inner room hovers—like a stage, an altar, a dream—an echo of a meditation mind, held slightly apart from the ordinary world.
The work unfolds as a ritual environment, framed by gently moving cloth printed with Shrine-images dedicated to Bee, Songbird, and Whale. The sound currents created by these beings, is, I believe, intrinsic to the sonic field of vibration that sews the worlds together.
Within this gently moving space, anthropomorphic figures called Hierophants and Gate Keepers gather for the ceremony. They are assembled from papercuts, masks, printed fabrics, and constellations of natural and found materials—old camera parts, lenses, binoculars. These ocular elements function as metaphors for perception and awareness: the act of seeing, and the awareness of awareness itself. The Hierophants symbolize the keepers of the esoteric wisdom and guide the seeker into the ceremony.
Sanctum integrates a subtle sound installation made in collaboration with music composer, Goopsteppa. It is collaged from field recordings of found elemental sounds—bees, songbirds, water—forming a quiet undercurrent beneath the visual field. This sonic layer deepens a sense of interconnectedness with the natural world.