Twisted wooden figures – ©Nagato Iwasaki.
Twisted wooden figures – ©Nagato Iwasaki.
Twisted wooden figures – ©Nagato Iwasaki.
Nagato Iwasaki
His sculptural figure despite being faceless evoke uncanny valley portrayal, appearing to be strangely human with external muscles, joints and organs. The sculptures are situated and poised in such a way that they appear to be moving and walking, silently through the forest.
Looking simultaneously like human beings, skeletons and tree roots, Iwasaki, rather than carving the wood, uses randomly curved pieces that already represent parts of the body. These pieces are collected from Suruga Bay (Japan). The pieces are collected after being washed ashore, especially after a storm or typhoon. Almost no conventional materials are used. Rather than glue, nails or twine, Iwasaki assembles his figures with wooden stakes, neither bending, shaving or processing the individual pieces of driftwood. Being humanised, adds to their feel of uncanny valley, each figure is different, some missing limbs, some with strange heads and irregular surfaces.
A big part of this illusion is that the viewer recognises the arrangement of branches as shoulders, the pelvis, muscles and limbs. However as the illusion breaks down in the viewers mind, there isn’t any skin or flesh, no recognisable face and the body’s skin is visible wood.
When the sculptures are photographed in the forests and natural environments they can look less like sculptures placed in a landscape and more like sculptures that belong in the land.
References: https://www.creativeboom.com/work/twisted-wooden-figures-by-artist-nagato-iwasaki-silently-stalk-picturesque-forestland/ Accessed 5th May 2026
Accessed 5th May 2026
Accessed 5th May 2026
https://icreatived.com/nagato-iwasaki-driftwood-sculptures Accessed 5th May 2026
