Upon arriving in Itoshima, Japan, I was welcomed by a vast sea of rice paddies. The fields are “pre-steamed” by the humid summer heat before the harvest, releasing the rich aroma of ripening rice. The rice is cooking, the land is quaking, and the earth feels wonderfully alive!

Inspired by this vibrant setting, I began a quirky ritual: taking a vacuum cleaner on a stroll like a loyal dog. Together, we roamed the country roads, soaking up the warm, fragrant air. The dust specks, bird feathers, bits of vegetation, anonymous insects, and stray rice grains we gathered became the ingredients for incense. When burned, this incense releases all these tiny, fragmented realities back to the earth, completing a playful cycle of transformation and return.

Through this whimsical process, I delve into the intricate dance between human presence and nature, contemplating the cycles of growth, decay, and renewal that sustain life in surprising and delightful ways.