Solo Exhibition “a moment in time -ume-” at Nadoya, Yoyogi-Uehara

The proposal to hold this exhibition came at a time when the pandemic was sweeping across the world, and many of us had paused to reconsider what we once took for granted. Tatsuno, too, found herself reflecting deeply — both as an individual and as a designer. It was amid this atmosphere that she created the exhibition’s central work, Ume no Ame (Plum Candy).

Inspired by a 60-year-old plum tree standing in the garden of Nadoya, the exhibition venue, Tatsuno extracted the color of the plum tree using a plant-dyeing technique she had recently become interested in. She then captured this color by boiling down sugar and water, sealing it within the form of candy. Like the transparent materials she has often worked with in her client projects — such as glass — Ume no Ame evokes the natural environment from which it was born and possesses a dignified, poised presence as an art object.

However, unlike glass or resin, the candy used in this work does not have material stability. It responds to its environment: it melts, crystallizes, changes shape, and eventually returns to the soil.



It is an unpredictable, fleeting, and circular beauty.

In the past few years, I have been intrigued by a plant-based natural dyeing called "kusakizome."

The colours that trees and flowers possess, even among the same species, differ according to where they grow, the season, and their individuality. Thus, they cannot be predicted until extracted. I think that this unexpected phenomenon that is naturally born and cannot be controlled by humans is incredibly beautiful.

And I am intrigued by things that disappear fleetingly.

I feel that things that remain in people's hearts despite no longer existing elsewhere are beautiful.

I wanted to explore such things.

At this exhibition, I have put my plum(ume)-coloured memories of nadoya’s plum tree into a transparent case of “ame - candy.”
I wanted the entire piece to return to the earth, so I found "candy" as a material for this piece.
It is made up of sugar and water, so it may melt a little.

That is also unpredictable.

After the exhibition is over, I will return it all to the earth.

The form will disappear, but I hope that it will remain, if even a little bit, in the back of your mind.

Shizuka Tatsuno