Karesansui
Karesansui — the Japanese dry garden — uses stone and gravel to evoke mountains and rivers without water, embedding the tendency of motion within absolute stillness.
Karesansui translates this logic into a field of black sponge forms. Hundreds of algorithmically generated units cover the floor like a carefully composed stone arrangement. Their alignment carries direction — converging, forking, spiralling like a river — yet everything is frozen. Some forms rise from the ground and attach to the wall, as if this dry garden were growing, breaking free from the constraints of the floor.
The material is sponge — soft, bodily, yielding to pressure. But the posture is that of stone: silent, weighted, immovable. This contradiction generates the tension of the work. It looks like a still landscape, but every form resembles a moment where motion has been paused.
In collaboration with aaajiao.
--- layout: work.njk title_zh: 枯山水 title_ja: 枯山水 title_en: Karesansui year: 2014 cover: /images/2014-karesansui/cover.jpg materials: 海绵、金属骨架 · 尺寸可变 materials_ja: スポンジ、金属フレーム · 寸法可変 materials_en: Sponge, metal frame · dimensions variable video: https://vimeo.com/102992816 description: "Hundreds of black sponge forms arranged like stones in a zen dry garden — some rooted to the floor, others lifting onto the wall, a landscape caught between stillness and the moment before motion." workTags: - installation - object --- <div class="gallery"> <img loading="lazy" src="/images/2014-karesansui/s1.jpg" alt="枯山水 — 形态从地面延伸至墙面"> <img loading="lazy" src="/images/2014-karesansui/s2.jpg" alt="枯山水 — 侧面视角"> <img loading="lazy" src="/images/2014-karesansui/s3.jpg" alt="枯山水 — 展厅全景"> <img loading="lazy" src="/images/2014-karesansui/s4.jpg" alt="枯山水 — 地面排列特写"> <img loading="lazy" src="/images/2014-karesansui/cover.jpg" alt="枯山水 — 俯瞰全景"> </div> <div lang="zh"> 枯山水是日本庭园中一种不用水的造景方式——用石头和砂砾摹拟山川河流，在静止中暗含运动的趋势。 《枯山水》将这种逻辑转译为一组黑色的海绵形态。数百个由算法生成的单元铺满地面，如同被精心布置的石阵。它们的排列有方向感，像河流一样汇聚、分叉、旋转，但一切都是凝固的。部分形态从地面升起，附着在墙面上，仿佛这座"枯山水"正在生长，正在挣脱地面的约束。 材料是海绵——柔软的、接近身体的、可以被按压的。但它们的姿态是石头的姿态：沉默、有重量感、不可移动。这种矛盾构成了作品的张力：看上去是静止的风景，但每一个形态都像是运动被按下暂停键的瞬间。 与 [aaajiao](https://eventstructure.com/aaajiao) 共同完成。 </div> <div lang="ja"> 枯山水は、水を使わない日本庭園の造景手法——石と砂利で山河を模し、静止の中に運動の趨勢を潜ませる。 《枯山水》はこの論理を、一群の黒い海綿形態へと翻訳する。アルゴリズムによって生成された数百のユニットが床を覆い、精緻に配置された石陣のように見える。その並びには方向性があり、川のように合流し、分岐し、旋回する——しかしすべては凝固している。一部の形態は床から立ち上がり、壁面に付着する。まるでこの「枯山水」が成長し、地面の束縛から抜け出そうとしているかのように。 素材は海綿——柔らかく、身体に近く、押せば凹む。しかしその佇まいは石のそれだ：沈黙し、重さを感じさせ、動かせない。この矛盾が作品の緊張を生む。静止した風景に見えるが、すべての形態が、運動が一時停止された瞬間のようだ。 [aaajiao](https://eventstructure.com/aaajiao) との共同制作。 </div> <div lang="en"> Karesansui — the Japanese dry garden — uses stone and gravel to evoke mountains and rivers without water, embedding the tendency of motion within absolute stillness. Karesansui translates this logic into a field of black sponge forms. Hundreds of algorithmically generated units cover the floor like a carefully composed stone arrangement. Their alignment carries direction — converging, forking, spiralling like a river — yet everything is frozen. Some forms rise from the ground and attach to the wall, as if this dry garden were growing, breaking free from the constraints of the floor. The material is sponge — soft, bodily, yielding to pressure. But the posture is that of stone: silent, weighted, immovable. This contradiction generates the tension of the work. It looks like a still landscape, but every form resembles a moment where motion has been paused. In collaboration with [aaajiao](https://eventstructure.com/aaajiao). </div>