Chiaki Tada's “Resurrection Flowers” are sculptural works that express the cycle of “life and death” experienced by wood as a material through forms honed to their absolute limit.

If traditional wood carving is an art of “subtraction,” carving shapes from a single log, then Tada's practice is a ritual of “resurrection”—carefully salvaging the fading memory of wood and breathing new life into it. Old cherry trees that once bloomed magnificently on school grounds, weathered timber that has served its purpose, raw logs with their rugged bark intact. At first glance, these appear to be in a state of “death,” their life cycles concluded. Yet, Tada discovers within them the tender buds of supple life.

Trembling stems in the wind. Petals carved so thin they seem to let light pass through. The defining feature of the works born from Tada's hands is a breathtaking delicacy.

These expressions are only possible through a mastery of the material's inherent characteristics. Their fragile, ephemeral quality, as if they might break at the slightest touch, paradoxically speaks of a quiet yet powerful energy of life—like wildflowers breaking through concrete to bloom.

“Resurrection Flowers” seem to represent Tada's attempt to reverse the timeline from the story and materiality of the wood that once existed, seeking to eternally capture only its most beautiful, radiant moment.

1956 Born in Osaka

1982 Completed the research course at Saga Art Junior College, Saga, Japan

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