Every kind of creature carries with it some mysterious ability—whether it be the power to fly, to swim, or to see through darkness. Each animal, in its own way, has acquired the movements necessary to survive in this world.
It is within these unique ecologies and habits that Uchida discovers the individuality of living beings. Like a child gazing into an illustrated encyclopedia or wandering through a zoo, his imagination expands beyond real forms and motions, further extending the possibilities of his motifs.
Thus, the cat whose leap seems ready to soar away becomes a creature with a rocket strapped to its back; the rabbit said to dwell on the moon dons a spacesuit and peers through a telescope.
Uchida’s process of transforming animal images into playful artificial forms is, in itself, an act of remarkable vigor. His sculptures are shaped through tankin, a traditional metalworking technique in which heated iron is struck repeatedly with different types of hammers. The process begins with models of clay or wire, followed by the action of striking the metal tens of thousands of times.
“When the form finally emerges as I imagined, I feel the same exhilaration as if I had given my all in a sport,” Uchida says.
Now, as one who has become the very human who hammers iron, Uchida continues to expand his bestiary—adding chickens, penguins, cows, and whales to his ever-evolving animal encyclopedia.