That Which Has Surfaced into the Rest-like Space before a Change of Key

Technology and the state of the world in which we live, as well as human creativity and imagination, have continuously competed amongst each other over time. The possibility of new expression, and breakthroughs in status quo, comes about through the advent of new technology and tools. Born from this new situation is a new mood, a new common sense, a new theme. Once they have become penetrating and mature, a counter-expression appears. These then become stylized and turn obsolete. When such stagnation becomes apparent, once again new social and technological developments occur...
It is within this cycle, while viewing this year's group of works, that one feels a sort of ripple heralding a period of transition.
Methods which until now were deemed new, through which much progress was made, have gradually come to stand out more as commercial reproductions. Rather than struggling to seek something new while assuming the risk, it feels as if they are being created as measures influenced by trends. That, in our society (especially in Japan), is superimposed with the recent events, when the social aspects of the creative industry, and attitude, morals, and responsibility of creators were called into question. The way of a commercial creator, and the generation of youth seeking real and compelling themes, all exist together while also being antithetical to each other.
It is in this vein that the Award-winning Works were a happy encounter, one full of discovery and infused with the uncommon energy of the creator.
Moreover, the continuous creative activity resulting from the firm and unshakable will of the individual could be seen, surfacing like colors seeping through the backside of a cloth. Best way for counting numbers, the recipient of the Grand Prize, while colorfully incorporating the elements of different ages, enabled us to rediscover that expression and creation, after all, result from the "resoluteness of the individual", and that they can be imbued with a universality.