An ikebana installation that moves between the purity of the lotus and the plurality of urban life through light and shifting perspectives.
Even within the field of science, “life” has yet to be definitively defined.
Perhaps this is because life is inherently a plural phenomenon—one that cannot be contained within a single norm or framework.
Ikebana, through the act of arranging flowers, touches upon the principles of life and finds beauty within its fragility and dignity.
For the ikebana practitioner, the life perceived in a flower is never singular; it is layered, diverse, and multidimensional.
In this work, the lotus flower, long regarded as a symbol of pure life, serves as the central motif.
Arranged by the ikebana artist, the lotus is not merely a symbol, but a manifestation of life interpreted through multiple perspectives—originating from purity, yet unfolding into plurality.
Technology extends this plurality into the viewing experience.
Through light, shadow, spatial openness, and the movement of perspective, the work continuously brings forth the many facets of life embedded within it.
In doing so, viewers encounter moments of awareness—an awakening to life’s multiplicity.
The installation is set against the vast urban landscape of Tokyo, where countless forms of life intersect and overlap.
The “pure life” blooming upon a water-like surface reminiscent of a celestial realm contrasts with the “diverse lives” unfolding in the city below.
Within this oscillation between micro and macro, viewers are invited to confront the universal question of what life is.
Ikebana Work: Masafumi Ishiwata
The lotus flower, rising unstained from muddy waters, blooms in purity without absorbing the surrounding colors.
To allow this pure life to bloom within a contemporary urban structure, the artist transferred the form onto hinoki wood panels using traditional craftsmanship.
The life of “this very moment,” emerging from the surface, is rendered entirely by hand in freehand technique.
Ikebana continually asks the question, “What is life?”
Just as predecessors sought the truth of life through living plants, we continue to arrange flowers today.
The works themselves do not remain—but this ephemerality has become an enduring tradition.
In contrast, contemporary technological expression relentlessly seeks the present moment and encodes it into digital data—approaching permanence.
These two practices, drawn toward one another’s creativity, have formed a new label.
This installation is a convergence of “tradition” and “innovation,” where the positions of each intersect across “the present” and “eternity.”
Plurality of Life — Pure Life and Diverse Life
ike-bana
2026
Installation
Duration: 5mins
A new label formed by three partners:
Ikenobo, the head family and origin of Japan’s traditional art of ikebana; BAUMX, Konica Minolta Japan’s spatial experience marketing division dedicated to the design and dissemination of value;
and enigma, a studio that creates alternative forms of value.
While honoring the history and tradition of the Way of Flowers, which centers on engaging with the “life” of flowers, the label places strong emphasis on creating experiences that are possible only in the present moment.
From value creation to design, dissemination, and iterative evaluation, all functions are carried out as one integrated team, continuously proposing alternative experiences of ikebana.
Exhibition
2026 TOKYO PROTOTYPE,TOKYO NODE SKY GARDEN & POOL, TOKYO
