Memory of the Comet no.19 is created through the delicate process of welding, bending, and layering countless slender iron wires, gradually forming a structure that appears as though a fleeting moment has been suspended in space. Through these fragile yet precise lines, Tomohiro Inaba transforms the transient passage of a comet and its lingering trajectory into a tangible three-dimensional presence.
Rather than seeking to depict the physical appearance of a comet, Inaba explores the visual essence of memory itself. The intersecting wires resemble traces left behind by time, capturing the presence of something that once existed but can never be fully grasped. Balancing lightness and solidity, disappearance and existence, the work evokes the subtle afterimage of a comet continuing to resonate even after it has passed beyond sight.
The transparent structure created by the iron wires changes continuously with the viewer’s perspective and the surrounding light. At times the form appears distinct; at others, it seems to dissolve into space, reflecting the nature of memory—constantly shifting, reconstructed, and experienced anew.
Memory of the Comet no.19 is therefore not merely a representation of a celestial body, but a meditation on the passage of time, the traces left by fleeting moments, and the ways in which memories continue to exist beyond their original experience.