Art Exhibition Held on the Shores of Yamagata's Scenic "Shirakawa Lake Submerged Forest"! Iide Town Tree Makers Project "Kazuma no Moribiraki"

The **Artist-in-Residence "Iide Town Tree Makers Project"** involves artists staying in the Nakatsugawa district of Iide Town, Yamagata Prefecture, a special heavy snowfall area, interacting with residents, and creating works and sculptures using the abundant broadleaf trees. Two artists who participated in the 2025 program, **Takahiro Miyahara (sculptor) and Akira Yamamoto (painter)**, will unveil new works. In addition, works previously created in the area will also be exhibited, and the **exhibition "Kazuma no Moribiraki"** will be held for 23 days.

Miyahara-san was overwhelmed by the energy of nature, which seemed to envelop the lives of people living in the harshness of heavy snow in winter. Yamamoto-san witnessed a primal desire for creation among people who freely painted on magnolia boards in the pure white snow. In this peripheral land, far from the city, the incompatibility and wildness between modernized humans and untamed nature are exposed, making one realize that perhaps these two forces were never meant to be controlled. With "power" as a keyword, Miyahara-san will present an exhibition featuring video and sculpture based on his research, while Yamamoto-san will showcase an installation re-editing works created by workshop participants. The different approaches of these artists will bring a fresh breeze and open up Kazuma no Mori towards spring. During the exhibition period, **events such as guided walking tours** explaining the works are also planned.