MAKOTO SEI WATANABE
Japan

"FIBER WAVE" is composed of many thin carbon fiber rods of 4.5~ meters height. When the wind blows, these rods sway gently; they stand still when the air is calm.

Up until now, most of the many kinds of man-made structures designed to move under the force of wind or water have belonged to the family of windmills and waterwheels, their motion defined by a rotational device. A simple, machine-like movement, the ultimate instance of which is the automobile.

This kind of mechanism is peculiar to man-made devices, almost non-existent in the natural world. About the only living organisms equipped with rotators are certain species of microbes.

Most living organisms do not use wheels but rather move by bending and flexing. "FIBER WAVE" is an attempt to devise an artificial structure which moves the way living organisms move.

Architectural structures are built to resist the wind and stand firm. "FIBER WAVE" does not fight against the wind. It bends low when the wind is strong and wavers gently when the wind is weak, submitting naturally to the force of the wind. Still, like a solid building it is safe against harm from even strong winds.

Grasses and trees waver and bend with the wind in the same way, receiving its force without resisting. "FIBER WAVE" is an artificial object which follows nature's lesson in suppleness.

The motion of "FIBER WAVE" is decided by the action of the wind. Its motion is not deliberate but compliant, yet complex. Watching it move, the observer enjoys a feeling of calm, as when gazing at a field of grass waving gently with the breeze.