Inspired by the sculptural work of Lee Ufan and Richard Long, Kimio Tsuchiya’s work is a reflection on the deep changes to society and the environment that have occurred over the last century. His early works of the mid 1980s were fuelled by the artist’s observations of the Japanese ‘bubble’ economy and the parallel shift in social values where mass consumption and material growth were sought and cultivated.

Tsuchiya’s first sculptures were made from pieces of driftwood, leftover debris from demolition sites, collections of fragmented stone and metal, pieces of chipped wood — residual materials of no significant or obvious value. By the early 1990s, the materials for these monochromatic assemblages were being sourced from demolished houses, a significant shift from earlier ad hoc selections. These smashed dwellings were reshaped into contained installations: stacked, carefully compiled collections of memories of homes. Tsuchiya then sharpened the metaphorical potential of these works by burning, powdering and sifting parts of his collected wreckage into ash.

Landscape in silence 1996 is an arrangement of tree roots covered with a layer of fine ash under a shallow dome of large fragments of glass. Central to the installation are the effects of destruction and regeneration on the natural environment. These ideas extend to a metaphoric display of the disintegration of community and the continuum of time. Ash is a complex symbol associated with myths about life and death. It is the final physical state of all living matter. Ash is also life-giving, containing vital nutrients to encourage and sustain new life. Tsuchiya’s use of ash also explores the universal symbols of the cycle of life, death and rebirth, as well as the specificity of the destruction of a given way of life.

Moon 1996 is a collection of 15 wedge-shaped chips cut from the trunks of trees about to be felled; this practice controls the direction of the fall of the cut tree. These chips belong to a handful of species, such as Maku and Japanese Cedar, which are systematically cut for industry in Japan. Presented in an arc across the wall, they vary in shape from a slim crescent to a full circle and illustrate the phases of the moon.

Like Landscape in silence, Moon is a sculpture about loss. In this case, it refers to the interruption of the life cycle of trees. As in much of Tsuchiya’s work, this sculpture has emerged from reflections on destruction, continuity and survival. Alluding to the cycles of rising and setting, the 15 wedges are also symbolic of time. As with the artist’s references to abandoned and demolished homes, Moon emphasises the relationship between time and the composition of the material world.

Both works stem from Kimio Tsuchiya’s fascination with expressing notions of the metaphysical — works that embody an abstract yet real quality by relying on familiar materials and subjects as interpretive touchstones.

Adapted from acquisition material by Timothy Morrell, former Curator, Contemporary Australian Art, QAG, October 1996.