Emergence – Awaken is a work that explores inner transformation and the eternal cycle of life.

For many years, I have felt that human life is not a straight path with a clear beginning and end. Rather, it is a continuous journey of endings and beginnings, of losing and rediscovering oneself.

Throughout our lives, we encounter hardship, grief, failure, and separation. At times, we may feel as though a part of ourselves has died. Yet these moments are not simply endings. They are also thresholds through which a new self can emerge.

Just as an insect breaks free from its shell and takes flight, we too shed old identities and undergo countless transformations during our lives.

Awaken seeks to capture one of those moments.

The closed eyes do not represent sleep, but an inward journey. The upward tilt of the head suggests a transition from the past toward an unknown future. The body, carefully modeled from life, is not intended merely as an anatomical study. It is a vessel carrying memories, experiences, suffering, hope, and the traces of a lived existence.

This work is also influenced by the Eastern concept of reincarnation.

Life and death, loss and renewal, endings and beginnings are not opposites. They are interconnected phases within a larger cycle. What appears to be an ending may simply be the beginning of another transformation.

This idea extends beyond the subject of the sculpture itself and into its method of creation.

The work begins as a life-sized clay sculpture. From this original form, molds are created, and selected elements will be cast in transparent resin to suggest an inner light emerging from within the figure.

The sculpture is then digitally preserved through 3D scanning and further developed within a digital environment. New forms and possibilities can emerge through this process, eventually leading to editioned works produced through 3D printing and other future iterations.

In this sense, the artwork itself undergoes a cycle of rebirth.

Clay becomes resin. Physical form becomes digital data. Digital data returns to physical form. The sculpture continually changes its body while retaining its essential identity.

This process of transformation is at the heart of the Emergence series.

Through these works, I hope to express the quiet beauty of renewal—the idea that within every ending lies the possibility of another beginning.

As Awaken continues to evolve, I look forward to sharing its journey with you.

Hironori Kiyoshima