"Space × Wabi-Sabi Luxury" TAIZAN Announces Sustainable Bonsai Art at International Film Festival Attended by Prominent Figures from Various Fields

Reborn Space Bonsai Created by TAICHI TOTANI - TAIZAN BONSAI WITHERS

Wabi-Sabi artist TAICHI TOTANI has specially created the Reborn Space Bonsai, a work that not only regenerates withered bonsai (※①) but also layers different time axes, such as meteorites and fossils, which would not ordinarily intersect, within a single vessel. ※①While bonsai possess beauty cultivated over many years, once they wither, their value is lost, and precious bonsai are often disposed of unnoticed. TAIZAN BONSAI WITHERS collects withered bonsai from across the country and applies special preservation treatments to create new value as "Reborn Bonsai Art," which never withers.

WabiSabi Artist- TAICHI TOTANI TAIZAN Space Bonsai Art

Work Introduction | WABISABI LUXURY × SPACE

TAICHI TOTANI's uniquely proposed new concept, "WABI-SABI LUXURY," is an aesthetic that redefines the beauty residing in "time" and "nature" as contemporary luxury. This work captures that Wabi-Sabi Luxury on a "cosmic scale," creating an experiential piece that connects different time axes and existences within a single vessel.

The reason TAICHI TOTANI uses materials such as leather, silver, iron, bonsai, and meteorites is that, despite their different time axes, all of them possess a "one-of-a-kind expression" created by time and nature.

- Leather that holds the memories and individual differences of animals. - Iron whose rust becomes a landscape over time. - Fossils and minerals nurtured by the Earth. - And meteorites that have traveled for hundreds of millions of years.

All of these are unique forms shaped by time and nature, which cannot be designed by human hands, and he believes that beauty resides in their randomness.

Reborn Space Bonsai Art・TAIZAN Bonsai

And this time, what he used as art was a withered bonsai, which was originally destined to be discarded as something that would never revive. Since ancient times, bonsai has been called a "microcosm" for condensing natural landscapes and time within a small vessel. The time-based art of bonsai, encompassing decades, is the essence of Wabi-Sabi that TAICHI TOTANI captures.

On the other hand, meteorites are entities that have traveled through space for hundreds of millions of years and were formed without human intervention. He finds cosmic-scale Wabi-Sabi in their randomly carved shapes. By embedding meteorites, which embody cosmic time, and fossils, which embody ancient life, into withered bonsai that once contained a "microcosm," a structure is created where the "inner universe" (bonsai) and the "outer universe" (meteorites) intersect.

Furthermore, in this work, instead of using traditional pots, rusted iron fixtures that have been exposed to rain for several years and have undergone aging changes are reused. The work is completed by burning incense (aroma) in the sand embedded in the rusted iron. The rising scent is a symbol of transience. By confronting the fleeting moment with cosmic time spanning hundreds of millions of years, this work is completed as a space. This work, to be appreciated with the scent of incense, can be viewed at TAIZAN Omotesando.

3-9-9 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0061, TAIZAN Omotesando

TAICHI TOTANI / 戸谷太一/WABISABIST

TAICHI TOTANI TAIZAN BONSAI

Born in South Africa, raised in Germany and Japan. During his student days, he traveled domestically and internationally as an artist. After graduating from university, he entered the world of finance, capital, and luxury. What he arrived at there was his unique philosophy of "Wabi-Sabi Luxury." What he has consistently pursued is the beauty residing in "nature and time." He perceives this as the essence of Wabi-Sabi. In 2024, he founded TAIZAN. He began his activities as an artist and creative director. Using random natural materials that embody different time axes, such as leather, bonsai, silver, and meteorites, he expands TAIZAN's expression. Capturing Wabi-Sabi on a "cosmic scale," he is quietly crossing borders, transcending the boundaries of art, fashion, and culture, to Milan, Paris, Dubai, New York, and Saudi Arabia.

Profile Career . . .

1993. Born in the Republic of South Africa 1999. Raised in Germany 2012. Graduated from Keio Gijuku High School

2014. Traveled nationwide as an artist

2016. Graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Law (Performing Artist)

2016. Joined KEYENCE Corporation 2019. Joined M&A Capital Partners

2024. Transformed into a WABISABIST

2024. Founded TAIZAN Co., Ltd. and assumed the position of Representative Director

2024. Traditional Craft