Material conditioner Takuma Yamazaki to hold solo exhibition in Japan

Material conditioner/industrial product designer Takuma Yamazaki will hold a solo exhibition in Shibuya, Japan in 2026 to present his new work.

In this exhibition, he will present "PromPlant(R) HeartBeat_Fumi Hashimoto_2026", a new work from his ongoing art project "PromPlant(R)".

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PromPlant(R)" is an art project that began in 2023, when Takuma Yamazaki began using generative AI to visualize and explore the shapes and forms of plants he had never encountered before.

The project has evolved into a collaboration with Watanabe Pile Orimono, a long-established manufacturer of Imabari towels, and has developed into an attempt to question the very methods of expression and development.

PromPlant(R) HeartBeat" is a series of works released in 2025.

It was created as an attempt to generate the appearance of plants by using the sound of one's own heartbeat, a phenomenon that can certainly be perceived in the real world, as a prompt for generative AI.

This work, "PromPlant(R) HeartBeat_Fumi Hashimoto_2026," is the next in the series.

For the first time, the sound of a heart other than one's own is used in this work.

The background of this work was that I was contacted by a person who had seen my work from the "PromPlant(R) HeartBeat" series presented in New York in 2025.

The person had cancer and spent time thinking about the preciousness of life while dealing with the pain, changes, and subtle sensations in his body that shift daily, and he was very pleased with the concept of the work, which derives plants from the waveforms of heartbeats.

This chance encounter moved Takuma Yamazaki and led to this work project, in which the sound of the person's heart is used to generate the appearance of a plant.

This work is a translation of the fact that a heart is indeed beating on this earth into the form of a wordless plant, and is fixed in the work.

This work will be given to the donor of the heart sound after the exhibition, and will not be sold.

Other exhibits

Bio-Vide

Bio-Vide

Based on his research of pig farms and slaughterhouses, Takuma Yamazaki's representative works question the boundary between a sense of life and materiality.

After using materials such as fish skin and cow bones, he is now developing a patented series of works centered on fallen leaves.

He is exploring phenomena, textures, and forms that evoke a sense of "animate nature.

The "Bio-Vide" project, which was born when he was 23 years old, is intended to be "what living things should look like," and was strongly influenced by his father, a livestock health worker.

Winner of the Lexus Design Award / Invited exhibit at the Salone del Mobile, Milan.

Sound of Drawing

World drawn with tone pencils - Sound of Drawing

This "stationery for listening to sound" was created through a joint workshop with blind people.

By developing an analog system that amplifies the sound of friction between paper and pencil, the project realizes an act of creation that does not rely on sight.

Highly acclaimed by Mr. Oki Sato of nendo, it was the first work in the history of the Kokuyo Design Award to win both the Grand Prix and the Audience Award.

Anima-Code

Anima-Code

This work asks the question of the "state of data" left behind after the death of a social networking user.

Using a stamp-shaped product imprinted with a QR code, it is designed to accompany the physical and emotional "path" of data access.

The stamp, made of transparent material, is housed in a paulownia wood box, suggesting the shape of a "grave of the future.

Winner of the A'Design Award (Italy) Bronze / DFA Asia Design Award Bronze K-Design Award (Korea)

Humanoid Camera / HC-jizo(TM) #13

Humanoid Camera / HC-jizo(TM) #13

This work is a sculptural sublimation of an autonomous camera that I had conceived while working for a camera manufacturer.

The microphone part is as large as an "ear," and the panning axis is as narrow as a "neck," creating a clear body design as if it were a living creature with a "head. The body design is like that of a living creature with a "head.

This concept, which was difficult to realize as an industrial product, was sculpted under the name "jizo" (jizo) to catch prayers and emotions.

This work was presented in 2022.

O3 Cosmic Memory

O3 Cosmic Memory

O3 Cosmic Memory is a sculpture of silently shining light, created using gas balloon membrane material from IWAYA Inc. , which has actually reached the stratosphere.

The membrane material is regarded as a precious material that holds the memory of touching the "entrance to the universe," and is reconstructed as an illuminated sculpture to be stored and appreciated like a specimen.

The work will be unveiled in June 2025.

PromPlant(R) - Immersion Textile

PromPlant(R) - Immersion Textile

This project was born from the viewpoint that the "prompt" used for AI generation is a human "jig" for bonsai.

It generates and designs unknown plant forms that have never been encountered before, and creates patterns based on these forms.

The textile was created in jacquard weave in collaboration with Watanabe Pile Orimono Co., Ltd, a long-established manufacturer of Imabari towels.

By daring to use a structure that does not have pile, the symbol of towels, a new textile expression called "immersion textile" was devised that combines high durability with a unique texture.

The work will be presented at his solo exhibition "Monozukuri ha Emotional Together" in 2023.

PromPlant(R) - HeartBeat Series

PromPlant(R) - HeartBeat Series

The PromPlant(R) series will be presented at a solo exhibition in New York in 2025.

The artist recorded his own heartbeat and used the waveform as a prompt to generate a plant form.

He dared to incorporate silk-screening tools, which he used as symbols of reproduction, as components of one-of-a-kind paintings.

This work will be presented as a group of 15 new works.

About the exhibition

The title of this exhibition is "WORKWORKWORK.

The word "WORKWORKWORK" is derived from the three meanings of "work," "work," and "excitement.

The title of this exhibition was also influenced by the fact that after the birth of his child, Yamazaki recalled the importance of "having fun.

Takuma Yamazaki is an artist who sees his work as an extension of his philosophy of life and daily life, and does not consider it to be separate from his work. He often works on other projects at the exhibition site during the exhibition period.

The venue is not only a place for viewing his works, but is also a space with chairs and tables that allow visitors to sit, think, converse, and work.

In his first solo exhibition in 2023, "Monozukuri is with Inspiration," the exhibition space was designed to allow visitors to sit down and relax, and coffee was served to all visitors (*He is refusing coffee at this time). Yamazaki is also an artist who has shown that the exhibition space is not a place that asserts artistic authority or enforces tension, but rather a place where the mind is released with peace of mind.

Yamazaki says, "Making others tense and atrophied is what second-rate people do." He believes that in a place that asserts authority and intimidation, people unconsciously tense their shoulders, and ideas and thoughts are less likely to truly and richly intermingle.

For this reason, Yamazaki does not hold exhibitions in which he is not present and only his works are displayed.

Instead, he considers the operation of the space itself as a part of his work.

The exhibition space itself is designed to be experienced in the same way as the artworks, and to be a place where human ideas naturally intersect and cognitive worlds expand.

Exhibition Information

Exhibition Title: WORKWORKWORK

Artist : Takuma Yamazaki

Dates : February 7, 2026 (Sat) 16:00-20:00 (17:00-19:00 champagne and refreshments)

　　　　　　　Sunday, February 8, 2026 11:00-19:00 (17:00-19:00 champagne and snacks)

Venue : SLOTH

　　　　　　　Wise Jinnan Bldg. 2F, 1-14-7 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0041, Japan

Cooperating companies

IWAYA Inc.

IWAYA Inc.has developed a technology that allows anyone to easily go on a space flight without any special training and with only a cost that anyone can afford. The company's vision is to "establish space tourism," aiming to lead all people, from infants to the elderly, into the stratosphere, the "gateway to space.

Watanabe Pile Weaving Co.

A towel manufacturer in Imabari with a history of over 60 years and a philosophy of "manufacturing products that make the most of the qualities of the materials".

The company carefully carries out each process while assessing the characteristics of cotton and selecting processing methods that take the environment and people into consideration.

The company offers the world high quality towels that can be used daily while maintaining their texture.

SPACEAGENT Inc.

SPACEAGENT is a company that handles processing management, processing design, housing design, and parts procurement for aerospace parts and medical equipment parts.

The company takes on the challenge of ultra-hard processing on the premise that all processing technologies, whether resin or metal, can be converted to space development and medical applications.

The company aims to be an international manufacturing and processing group that supports the space and medical industries.

Futsuka Printing

A printing company that conducts workshops and produces and presents artwork in various locations, focusing on silk screen printing technology.

They handle a diverse range of products, including posters, packages, and novelties, and pursue high quality workmanship through careful handwork.

They are expanding the possibilities of printing by adopting flexible ideas according to materials and designs.

Takuma Yamazaki Profile

Takuma Yamazaki / Material conditioner / Industrial product designer.

Born in Hokkaido, Japan in 1990.

Worked for Canon Inc. for 6 years, where he was in charge of body design for SLR cameras, compact digital cameras, lenses, and new business products.

During his tenure (age 28), he became independent to concentrate on the management of TAKUMA YAMAZAKI DESIGN LLC, which he had established and operated.

Within one year of becoming independent, he proposed, modeled, designed, and mass-produced five products, including a microphone, speakers, a hair care device, and two wave-controlled interior items, all of which were launched within the client's target time frame. The products he designed became No. 1 bestsellers.

In his twenties, he won many large domestic and international design awards, including the Lexus Design Award, the Kokuyo Design Award, and the iF Design Award.

Currently involved in space design development and defense, he is committed to designing spacecraft, realizing space colonies, and strengthening the Japanese nation through design.

He also works as an artist to master the path of material tuning, and advocates "industrial artistry" as he traverses the world of 0.01mm design and design and the realm of art.

In 2025, he signed a contract with a New York gallery and held a solo exhibition "industrial artistry" in Manhattan. The works have been traded.

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