SEEDS OF TIME

Pietre oniriche by Maestro Nagatani

SEEDS OF TIME

by Sidsel Solmer Eriksen, Founding Editor

I was introduced to Nagatani’s sculpture Seeds of Time at a gallery in Milan in 2015, where the gallerist allowed me to move the seeds along the extended line, up and down. She also revealed that the inspiration behind the seven seeds was the seven virtues of the Japanese bushido warrior, and that one of the seeds, which displayed a technical layout inside, served as a metaphor for the modern age.

Three years later, the sculpture still resonates deeply with me and has left an imprint on how we perceive ourselves in time and space. During those three years, I often revisited the experience by opening the gallery catalogue.

In front of Nagatani’s sculptures, the observer’s imagination is drawn toward a cosmic dimension. The sculptures are like atoms to matter, or cells to tissue, or stars to galaxies. They appear as messages of the incomprehensible mystery of creative intensity. Nagatani’s works assert themselves like signs in silence, revealing the deepest secrets of time and placing the emotional state of the viewer as part of the sculpture itself.

The feeling that continues to resonate with me is the sense that the time we live in now shares the same shape as times past. We are no different from our ancestors—planting and harvesting—and one day, our era too will be history. But inside, something has changed. There is a new kind of technology, now embedded in our time, bringing with it new opportunities, challenges, and forms of creativity.

With the universal idea of growth in mind, it is an exciting thought:

How can we use our newly found digital intelligence to plant seeds that are as beneficial and organic in nature as nature’s own crops?

What kinds of seeds are we planting for future growth?

Would love to hear your reflections and thoughts—what seeds are you planting?