When I start to produce my work, my motivation is the structure and the process of producing paper.  Paper is a flat medium composted of intertwined fibers.  In each country including Japan, various kinds of paper are made.  Hand-made paper has a special and unique internal character in each sheet showing by whom, where, and how it is made, and also shows the character of people involved with making it.   I'm always interested in the structure and the story of each sheet.You may find my works as a kind of paper because they are compositions of intertwined fibers.  However, I bring out "the self", and see "my self" when facing my completed works which are made by stacking and drying."The self" is uncertain and inconsistent, I like to ask "the self" in each sheet what exactly is emerging through making each piece work.  

Tomomi Hanzawa