As an aside, when I pulled up the video of this savage Sakurai, YouTube (as always) suggested related videos to the right and the second one from the top was titled “5 Experiments that Could have Destroyed the World” (don’t blame me for their capitalization). With my left eyebrow arched so high that it suggested that I had a recent Botox accident, I glanced pipe, headline, pipe, in order to understand the unfathomable connection. I even (god forgive me) went as far as watching the video, thus losing a precious 5:46 that I’ll never get back. My conclusion: though containing some elements that are so raw and primal that they border on the geological, and a tussle might break out amongst your buddies to be the first to hold it, I wouldn’t rush to refer to it as ‘Shiva’ (unless, of course, you want to).

This Kabin (jap; Vase) is a marvelous juxtaposition between the comforting familiarity found in manmade forms and Zen’s celebration of the organic/impermanent, as well as the most advanced work (in a Tokutomi sense) I have seen from Sakurai to date. The craggy eruptions of plateau interplay with the vibrantly striated cross of the sides not only creates a superb visual synergy, but (side view) also suggests the ‘completed’ form exists within another unseen plane.

Amazing stuff.

Bear Graves