Ayumi Tsuchiya’s wooden sculptures encourage curiosity
Children rarely stop to ask how Ayumi Tsuchiya is sculptures work but intuitively climb into them, rock back and forth, push, pull and listen. Adults, on the other hand, look for instructions first. This difference has become one of the defining observations behind the Japanese artist’s practice. Opposite handmade wooden chairsmusical seesaws, large carved bowls and flower-like seats, Tsuchiya’s practice revolves around objects that demand the body as much as the eye. Her works occupy space between sculpture, furniture, organand playgroundasking to be used before they are understood. “Children begin to play instinctively,” she he says designboom. “When adults see my work, they first try to ask how to use it, but children first touch it and understand how to interact with it and how it works through experience.”
A rocking chair becomes a bench when turned upside down. A flower-shaped chair gently folds around the person sitting in it. A seesaw becomes a xylophone as riders move together, while a monumental wooden bowl, opened by hand, invites visitors to climb and swing as if they’ve suddenly shrunk into the world of Japanese folklore. “Kids are geniuses. That’s not to say that adults aren’t – just because they understand society’s rules and try to live by common sense, they look for an explanation first. Through my work, I hope that adults, in particular, will reconnect with the sensitivity that lies dormant within them.” the artist shares.
Thumbelina Chair | all images courtesy of Ayumi Tsuchiya
Creating spaces for people to connect
Ayumi Tsuchiya did not arrive at this way of working through a fascination for contemporary art. The exact opposite. “I like to create things,” he tells us. “But to be honest, I wasn’t really interested in art to begin with. I didn’t find much enjoyment in just going to an art museum and just looking at the works.’ He became increasingly interested in what might happen around a work of art and not so much in front of it.“That’s why I wanted to create interactive artworks and more than that, I wanted to create the space itself where people can communicate through these works. the artist he adds.
Music runs through many of Ayumi Tsuchiya’s works, though not for the reason you might expect. “The reason I incorporate music is because I can’t play any instruments,” she admits. “I love to sing, but I was terrible at it. That is why I have such a strong longing for music.’ The artist began to build instruments that almost anyone could play. In works such as Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Si-So, melodies emerge through movement, while Doremi-fa Sofa turns the shifting of body weight into a simple musical composition as wooden balls travel on a xylophone.
Cycle song
Handcrafted carpentry and kinetic design
Each piece begins as a sketch before passing through technical drawings, wood selection, framing and construction, all executed by the artist herself. “I have things I want to create,” Ayumi Tsuchiya shares with designboom. “But more than that, I have a deep desire to keep using my hands to make things.”
“I design, draw plans, choose the wood and do all the processing myself. I love visualizing the piece, choosing the wood, figuring out how to build it and actually making it with my hands.” adds the artist.
In an age where interactive art is increasingly driven by screens, sensors and software, Tsuchiya continues to create experiences through gravity, balance, gears, wood and touch. The mechanics remain visible, as does the maker’s hand. “I think digitization is wonderful. I also like digital art. she says. “But other than that, I’m an analog person at heart.”
These carefully crafted objects, chairs, bowls and instruments are truly invitations to move, listen, laugh and perhaps remember, if only for a moment, what it’s like to approach the world with the curiosity of a child.
Song circle
Song circle
Gear Wonderland No.12
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