Modern garden with a reflective black water feature, white sculpture by Mari Ruth Oda, and lush greenery.

Suncity Tachikawa

2018

Tokyo

Mari-Ruth Oda’s sculptural series for a luxurious senior living complex in Tachikawa, Tokyo, invites quiet reflection and sensory engagement. Commissioned in collaboration with SWA Landscape Architects, the three resin fibreglass pieces—See 視, Be 在, and The Source 源—explore themes of sense of being. Inspired by natural forms, these sculptures integrate seamlessly into the landscape, offering moments of contemplation and playful interaction.

A project with SWA Sausalito and Interculture Art

Be 在 Inspired by the state of being, rather than doing. In the being state, there may be silence, serenity and contemplation. Through this work, I also tried to express an enveloping type of comfort one might get from one’s mother in childhood. Res
Modern white abstract sculpture with circular cutout, reflected in a glass window and water surface, set against a building facade.
Modern outdoor sculpture with an illuminated center, surrounded by building and greenery at night.
Modern sculpture with a central hole in a courtyard surrounded by greenery and a reflective water feature, set against a beige building background.
Abstract sculpture in a serene garden with a reflective water feature and green foliage.
Outdoor seating area with modern sculpture, metal chairs, tables, and a covered patio with warm lighting, surrounded by greenery at dusk.
  • An image of a sculpture by Mari Ruth Oda, titled Be

    Be 在

    “Inspired by the state of being, rather than doing. In the being state, there may be silence, serenity and contemplation. Through this work, I also tried to express an enveloping type of comfort one might get from one’s mother in childhood.”

    Resin Fibreglass

    Photography by David Lloyd, Copyright 2018 SWA Group

  • An image of a sculpture by Mari Ruth Oda, titled Be

    See 視

    “This sculpture is in part a Mobius strip, an infinite loop that one can try to trace visually. Seeing is an experience of observing and interacting with something that is manifest. I wanted to express a playful, and light heartedness of seeing and also seeing through things. The shape is inspired by natural forms like petals and pebbles.”

    Resin Fibreglass

    Sculpture in the Stroll Garden

    Photography by David Lloyd, Copyright 2018 SWA Group

  • An image of a sculpture by Mari Ruth Oda, titled Be.

    The Source 源

    “Inspired by the idea that all things are made of, and created by, a source energy. In the centre of the work there is a hole, or the void that represents the unmanifest, from which all forms arise and into which everything returns.

    The artwork is also inspired by the sensations one might get in their solar plexus, the gut-feeling, of the knowing that comes from within.”

    Resin Fibreglass

    Photography by David Lloyd, Copyright 2018 SWA Group