Art ExpoPublic Art

Forest of Civilizations
Subfossil Oak s.r.o.

“Forest of Civilizations is an ancient forest installation featuring a forest made out of world unique 6,500-year-old subfossil oak trees, where each tree will be dedicated to one participating nation of the Expo 2025. With over 130 pieces of these rare trees present, it will be the largest exhibition of its kind in history.
These extraordinary trees, preserved for millennia beneath the surface, stand as living witnesses to the birth of human civilizations and now form an interconnected monument celebrating global unity and resilience.”

Home Sweet Home
MAI MIYAKE

Osaka has thrived as a hub where water carries goods and people, facilitating vibrant exchanges. In Japan, known as the Land of Abundance, there is a deep-rooted belief that good things come from across the sea—an idea that has shaped ancient traditions and ways of thinking.
One of Osaka’s symbols is the octopus, with its eight legs, a number associated with prosperity in Japan. The word suehiro signifies good fortune, and the phrase happō-yoshi expresses the hope that blessings will spread in all directions. Inspired by these ideas, I created a piece that represents both the octopus and its beloved home, Osaka, as a wish for happiness and prosperity for all visitors. As the site is adjacent to the Port of Osaka, the stained glass captures the shimmering beauty of water, bringing this vision to life.

anima harmonizer
LINTALOW HASHIGUCHI

The term anima harmonizer is a coined word meaning “one who harmonizes and plays the soul.” It is the name of an imaginary, unknown-technology-based giant sound device, like a living creature born from paint.
To conceptualize this idea, I introduced the notion of biogenic letters or sign life forms—a stage preceding hieroglyphs. This form of notation, while simple and repetitive, does not have a fixed shape like conventional writing.
From this massive sound device, letters emerge—symbols created to make invisible sounds visible. Each sound takes on a physical, organic form, intertwining with others and vibrating through space. The messages that burst forth through these letters generate energy, filling the environment with their resonance.

WORLD EXPO 2025
COOK

This work is inspired by the Expo. The rainbow in the design symbolizes the SDGs, while the diverse colors of the characters represent different races. At the center stands MYAKU-MYAKU, symbolizing harmony and friendship among people worldwide, with the hope of a peaceful future. The flowers depicted are from various countries, attracting butterflies that evoke the image of a beautiful, interconnected future. By incorporating “WORLD EXPO 2025” into the design, it is instantly recognizable as a piece created for the Expo.

Cycloid III
MARIKO MORI

The term cycloid refers to the path traced by a point on a circle as it moves in a specific way. This sculpture is inspired by the epicycloid, a form that expands outward, creating a sense of continuous growth.
Made of intricately connected aluminum elements, the sculpture’s complex yet delicate structure seems to flow and expand. Its surface is coated with a pearlescent finish, reflecting light to enhance its dynamic presence and sense of perpetual motion.
The work expresses the idea that the universe is in an endless cycle of creation and dissolution—without a clear beginning or end, and possibly even existing in parallel dimensions. This concept takes shape in a form reminiscent of a Möbius strip, symbolizing the infinite flow of time and the essence of eternity.

Forest Paths ー Blue Forest
Asuka Tazaki（HERALBONY Co.,Ltd.）

Born in 1981 in Saitama, Japan, now residing in Rikuzentakata. He began painting at the encouragement of his father. The Great East Japan Earthquake claimed his home and nearly 200 of his artworks. The loss of loved ones also left his deeply shaken, leading his to step away from creating art for a time. However, as she confronted the changing landscape of the city, he found her way back to painting.
Regarding the vivid colors in The Path Through the Forest – Blue Forest, Tasaki reflects, “Color is something the heart listens to.” Much like the cedar grove in MIYAZAWA Kenji’s Kenju Park Forest, his work evokes the sensation of a fresh, cool breeze rushing through the deep green of towering trees.

INTER-WORLD/Cocooner: Apparent motion of celestial bodies
Akihito Okunaka

Works by Akihito Okunaka are soft sculptures that amplify phenomena occurring in Earth’s environment through the interaction of air, water, and sunlight. The artist believes that “humans resemble air, water, and the sun,” and through his creations, visually and experientially presents the relationship between ourselves and the world around us.
The title of this work, Cocooner, evokes the slang term referring to someone withdrawn into a cocoon-like state. Amidst the uncertainties pervading society, Okunaka questions whether humanity itself is trapped within a cocoon created by human actions during the Anthropocene epoch.
Embedded within this piece is the artist’s hope for humanity to break free from the outdated, anthropocentric cocoon and emerge, spreading wings as beings essential in a more cosmic context.

HIWADROME: type_ark_spec2
Kazuhiko Hiwa

The artist primarily develops the HIWADROME series, an installation work using the wheelchair they themselves employ for mobility as material, alongside video works and performances, all centred on the theme of physicality.

DIVING to sky water
NAKAJIMA Mugi

Born of water, returning to the sky, this is the concept of this work.
My murals are painted without using a brush; they are paintings of gravity and matter. I also want to incorporate the air of the Expo site, such as the weather and wind, into my work.
I am happy if I can visualize the invisible circulation with colors.

Hard Boiled Daydream (Sculpture/Spook/Osaka)
Teppei Kaneuji

I have been creating artworks by liberating everyday objects from their conventional scale, value, meaning, and function, then connecting them in new ways. Small, fictional images—such as those found in manga and illustrations—are enlarged and fused with physical materials, generating entirely new impressions. By weaving these elements together into a single piece, a new narrative emerges, creating a space that fluidly moves between two-dimensional and three-dimensional realms, fiction and reality, the personal and the public, as well as the past, present, and future.

Lineage of Hope
BAKIBAKI

Utagawa Kuniyoshi was re-evaluated as an avant-garde painter in The Lineage of Eccentricity, published in 1970. This work, inspired by his Sanuki-in’s Retainers Rescuing Tametomo, merges traditional Japanese patterns with BAKI designs—a fusion of subcultures—and is painted on Yumeshima, overlooking Osaka Bay.
Although mural art has struggled to take root in Japan, this is beginning to change, particularly in Osaka. From Ukiyo-e to Manga, Sekiga to Mural—popular art has always evolved. By revisiting the essence of artistic expression on the eve of Japan’s historic opening to the world, this work aims to showcase a distinctive cultural identity. May the hopes passed down by our predecessors spark meaningful cultural exchanges with visitors from all over the world.

Love Stone Project EXPO 2025
Tominaga Atsuya

Five heart-shaped stone sculptures will be placed at the EXPO 2025 venue. Each stone will come from one of the five continents—America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania—symbolizing the unity of our planet.
By bringing these stones together in one space, we express the idea that the Earth is one. Visitors from around the world will have the opportunity to polish the stones together, representing the universal wishes of humanity love and peace that transcend borders and cultures. The stones, shaped by the collective effort of people from all over the world, will shine eternally, preserving the spirit of EXPO 2025 for generations to come.

Memory of the Sea: Kikaijima – The Coral Ark
SceNE Project , RIHN

Kikai Island—a miraculous land formed by the uplift of coral reefs. Coral fossils hold the memory of Earth’s environmental changes. This sound and visual installation features Toni/Humura, a traditional potato-washing basin carved from a massive coral stone on Kikai Island, alongside layers of coral stones collected from every village.
The installation connects the “now” of Kikai Island to the venue through real-time audio and video, creating an immersive space where visitors can experience the island’s breath of life. By scanning a QR code with their smartphones, visitors can access live footage of the island and visually track real-time changes in seawater temperature, as well as its historical fluctuations.
Through the combined experience of touch, sound, and sight, this project aims to bring awareness to climate change and environmental issues, fostering a sense of connection between the local community and the wider world.

Where I Vanish — Reflections at the Edge of Reality
DONECY

This sculpture questions the essence of “seeing,” drawing viewers to the boundary between reality and illusion. From a distance, its form is clear, yet as one approaches, their gaze shifts to their own reflection, making the sculpture vanish. This suggests that reality is shaped by perception rather than objectivity.
Interacting with light and space, the sculpture constantly transforms with time.
Its simple, single-line outline, both familiar and elusive, conceals a profound depth of existence. In this interplay of presence and absence, it quietly asks: ──What are you truly seeing?

WORMHOLE
KUNIMATSU Kineta

Trees are witnesses of the history and times of their lands over long periods of time. Giant mizunara trees in the Uryu Experimental Forest of Hokkaido University have coexisted with different plant species, such as moss, through generations. We modern citizens may learn lessons from the trees. “WORMHOLE” represents a link to another place beyond space and time, such as a black hole.

Prayer Vessel
NARA Yuki

NARA Yuki, a ceramicist and architect, pursues the possibilities of modern artistry through a fusion of ceramics and architecture. Born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, which is part of the area struck by the devastating Noto Peninsula Earthquake, Nara created this work of art evoking the image of “praying hands” and the “Earth” with the hope for recovery from the disaster also based in Kanazawa.

People 14.
Julian Opie

Using anonymous pedestrians as models, the artist employs a visual language that is simple yet remarkably attentive to detail, capturing the vibrancy of urban life. By adopting the LED display as an artistic medium, the work acts as a mirror to the urban scene, turning the public into a monument.

Bloom Paradise. Flower of Hope
Jun T. Lai

“Bloom Paradise. Flower of Hope” is centered around the symbols of multiculturalism and the lotus, vividly presenting the blueprint of life’s brilliance. The work symbolizes “the creation of life” and “the regeneration of life,” depicting the life cycle from the mundane to the sacred, from impurity to purity, and from death to rebirth, revealing the transformation and renewal of life. The spirit and metaphor of the lotus are transformed, symbolizing the life cycle of nature. The multi-colored petals represent a multicultural co-creation, where each flower embodies a unique world.

Snow-Deer
NAWA Kohei

White deer shining like falling fresh snow have been worshiped as divine servants in Shintoism since ancient times. Shinroku (divine deer) in this work appears to calmly peer into the time of glaciation, which will come for sure in the distant future, while sensing a rise in sea levels caused by global warming and further shifts in climate.

The Woman with Terrestrial Malady ”LEM”
REMA

What if the mermaid were a vision of humanity’s future?
This sculpture, LEM, presents a fictional aquatic human adapted to change, reflecting the instability of identity we face today. Its faceless form attempts to free itself from the images and roles imposed by society. Just as the mermaid has transformed through time, perhaps our own “faces” — the ways we are seen and defined — are also in constant flux.

TIDE
Yasuhiro Nakanishi

This abstract sculpture, Tide, was awarded the Grand Prize at the 82nd Free Art Exhibition held at The National Art Center, Tokyo in 2018. The work is carved from black granite, one of the hardest and most durable stones among granites. Its mirror-polished surface demands a high level of craftsmanship, as even the slightest imperfection or trace of roughness must be carefully eliminated during the final stages of finishing.
Thanks to its exceptional durability, the sculpture is ideal for outdoor display. Its lustrous surface retains its brilliance over time, while the gently curving forms reflect the surrounding landscape. The work reveals different expressions depending on the season, time of day, and weather—inviting the viewer to experience its ever-changing character.
At the center, a roughly chiseled section starkly contrasts with the smooth, flowing contours around it. This symbolizes a powerful current being drawn inward, evoking the force and pressure of water converging into a central void.
When viewed from above, the eye is drawn into this mysterious cavity, creating a sense of being pulled into an unknown space beyond. The work aims to evoke a feeling of mystery and infinite depth, suggesting a gateway to another realm.