Installation, SUMIDA EXPO 2022/ BOSAI ART AWARD Rainwater (collected by the artist from individual water tanks), glass jars, 2022 Water is a very familiar element in our daily lives and is essential for human existence. At the same time, water can also reveal a destructive side. The artist recalls a friend who lost her father to the sea and who still cannot face the ocean. This contrast led the artist to reflect on how different experiences—small streams, dew on grass, and the waves of the sea—are all expressions of one material. The history of the exhibited location is closely connected to water. Rivers supported local industries, while floods repeatedly shaped the area. During the Jomon period, the land that is now Sumida was under the sea. The region’s long history of disasters has led people to confront environmental challenges and develop systems of preparedness. The artist collected rainwater from small water tanks personally owned and maintained by local residents. By freezing this rainwater inside glass bottles, the artist uses the expansion of ice to break the bottles from within. Each broken bottle reveals the physical force contained in water. The ice eventually melts, spreads across the floor, and evaporates into the air. While the water itself disappears, the distorted bottles remain as traces of what has taken place. Through this process, the work invites quiet contemplation of the power of nature and its inevitability, suggesting that water will eventually become part of the human body.