Kojiro Yoshiaki

What I want to express in my work is the most dynamic state in which a structure or form can be. As a material, it has been my great fortune to encounter foaming glass, with its uncontrollable expansions and deflation.

I combine glass powder with a foaming agent, such as calcium carbonate or copper oxide in a fireproof plaster mold, and then fire it for casting at around 820°C in an electric kiln. The melting glass confines the gas that the additive releases inside, and the mold is filled with foamed glass gradually — like baking bread. I open the door of the kiln to abruptly solidify the foaming glass. Although the piece cools quickly, it retains its shape, but has become a porous lump of glass with strong tensile stresses from forcibly stopping the expansion. I remove the plaster mold and fire the piece again for slumping at around 700°C. The tensile stresses are released, causing shrinking and cracking. The glass collapses under its own weight, and the spaces between the porous parts merge.

I have come to conclude that this transformation is a life cycle. In the natural world, objects are always changing. As transformed materials are exposed to air or heat, they change in appearance or texture at their own pace. However, when compared to other materials, it is said that glass is artificial and does not age. My goal is to create forms that express transformation and the natural properties of glass.

ARTIST STATEMENT