My soul burns
With the desire to become a thread
Strong enough
To connect Earth to Heaven
- Masahisa Goi

Joy and gratitude towards life are my unchanging motivations.

My work is the embodiment of my tremendous joy of creating, growing, realizing how I am connected to the heavens and the universe, my deepest gratitude for having been given this life and being able to live it to the fullest. It is also my amazement of transmigration, the great intuition that always pushes me forward and my late father's love and thoughts that resonate within me - the sound of heaven I experience every day.

I've always loved the shapes and lines of birdcages, which I believe are the perfect vessel in which to enshrine the spirit of joy I want to embody. I wanted to create soft, comfortable and open "perches for the soul" with imagination, playfulness, a prayer for peace and most of all, with a complete sense of freedom. This is why I keep all the doors open on each and every piece I make.

Working with foam sheets enables me to create the kinds of lines and shapes I want, and, especially with my series of black pieces, the pliable softness and lightness of the material creates an unexpected contrast to the hard iron-like appearance.

It started with birdcage-like forms, but to me they are "perches for the soul" and also something of a silent "bell". Birdcages have always been like wind chimes to me. My bells may be earthly silent, but I hope you can enjoy my song of freedom, joy and the sense of enriched peace in the pieces I have created.

Kana Harada