Osamu Mori was born in the Aichi prefecture in Tokyo, Japan in 1983. He studied in Tokyo’s University of the Arts where he then obtained his MFA in 2009. Creating enormous sculptures out of wood, Mori’s creations capture a range of phenomena in a unique manner, embracing the essence of the materials employed and tracing the evolution of beauty from traditional art to contemporary icons. A key aspect of Mori’s creative approach is spontaneity. Even though a basic structure is envisioned at the outset, Mori consistently introduces unexpected elements, reshaping and redefining components to challenge the intended balance and move towards the ultimate expression.
In an age where uniform beauty no longer exists and diversity is sought after, Mori challenges us to question what “beauty” truly is, who it is for, and how it can be expressed. The absurdity of the world obsessed with celebrity culture can be seen in his distorted carvings of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, asking us to question the discomfort we feel when we observe his pieces. Mori sculpts the human figure onto a 120-year-old camphor tree. Incorporating the tree’s twists, crevices, and flaws, it seamlessly merges with the artwork, almost as if nature itself is reinterpreting human anatomy. Mori’s first solo show Can’t Help Falling in Love, 2010, featured works including Leda and the swan, a sculpture inspired by the Greek myth. In his most recent solo exhibition Ba De Ya, 2020, Mori exhibited his largest ever wood sculpture, Jamboree – EP.
