Torso — Nagato Iwasaki, Japan
Nagato Iwasaki · Torso, a series of life-size driftwood figures · Japan, no fixed site
Photo from the Street Art Utopia archive; photographer and capture date not recorded. Artwork: Nagato Iwasaki. Full photograph shown.
Torso is a series of life-size human figures that Japanese artist Nagato Iwasaki builds from driftwood and then places out in the open, in forests, marshes and on riverbanks. Source Source Checked He told Creative Boom that he uses no glue and no iron nails, only wooden stakes. Source Checked Sources disagree on the series’ dates. Source Source Conflicting None says where or when the figure in the photo above stood. Source Source Source Unconfirmed
Seen Aug 2021: the newest dated source, Pen (12 August 2021), shows the Torso figures and lists the series as Torso (1983–2019). It is a publication date, not an on-site sighting of this figure. Source Reported
💡 4 things to know
- Built without glueIwasaki told Creative Boom that the Torso pieces use no glue or other adhesives, wooden stakes instead of iron nails, and that every piece is built to stand on its own without support. Source Checked
- Driftwood after typhoonsHis studio is in a town on the southern tip of Yamanashi Prefecture, about 30 minutes by car from Suruga Bay, where after a typhoon there is always a lot of driftwood washed up, he told Creative Boom. Source Checked
- Life-size figuresSpoon & Tamago reported that the sculptures are life-sized at around 180 cm tall and made entirely of driftwood the artist collects in various places in Japan. Source Reported
- Placed out in naturePen reported that the finished figures are placed in forests, marshes and on riverbanks, with occasional incursions into the city and into museums. Source Reported
📍 Where it is
No fixed site. The figures are placed outdoors in Japan, and Spoon & Tamago shows an installation at Mount Fuji in November 2008. Where the figure in the photo above stood has not been published. Source Source Unconfirmed
🗓️ Sightings
- 2008Nov
Installation at Mount Fuji · Spoon & Tamago photo caption
- 201715 Feb
Iwasaki explains how Torso is built · Creative Boom
- 201719 Jun
Feature on the “torso” series · Spoon & Tamago
- 202031 Oct
Feature on Torso · My Modern Met
- 202112 Aug
Nagato Iwasaki’s Men of the Woods · Pen
Every stamp links to its source. All are amber: publication dates and an event caption, not dated on-site photos of the figure shown above.
🗞️ In the sources
Twisted wooden figures by artist Nagato Iwasaki silently stalk picturesque forestland
“The Torso pieces I create use absolutely no glue or other adhesives.”
The artist says the Torso figures are held together without glue.
The Eerie Humanoid Driftwood Sculptures of Nagato Iwasaki
“Over the past 25 years, Iwasaki has been crafting these sculptures as part of a collection he simply calls “torso.””
The series had been in the making for about 25 years.
Life-Sized Driftwood Sculptures Look Like Uncanny Characters From a Sci-Fi Movie
“The artist worked on the evocative series for 25 years and completed it in 2010.”
My Modern Met dates the series’ completion to 2010.
Nagato Iwasaki’s Men of the Woods
“In his series ‘Torso’, the artist sculpts statues of men and women from driftwood, before placing them out in the open.”
The figures are made of driftwood and set outdoors.
✅ The facts
- Material
- Driftwood joined with wooden stakes; no glue or nails, according to the artist Source Checked
- Studio
- A town on the southern tip of Yamanashi Prefecture, about 30 minutes by car from Suruga Bay, according to the artist Source Checked
- Series dates
- 25 years, completed in 2010 (My Modern Met); begun in 1995, and listed as Torso (1983–2019) (Pen). We lean towards Pen’s Torso (1983–2019), because Pen lists the series with its works, although Pen also says the series was begun in 1995 Source Source Conflicting
- This figure
- Where and when the figure in the photo above stood has not been published Source Source Unconfirmed
🔗 Related
- Look What They’re Made Of (11 Photos) — Street Art Utopia
- Nagato Iwasaki’s driftwood sculptures — Street Art Utopia
- All Artwork Files
All sources & image credits
- Creative Boom — 15 February 2017
- Spoon & Tamago — 19 June 2017
- Boing Boing — July 2017
- My Modern Met — 31 October 2020
- Pen — 12 August 2021
- Hero image: the photograph used in the Street Art Utopia post, photographer not recorded (WAU media #12787); the share image is a 16:9 version of it (WAU media #12788).
Last checked: 12 November 2026 · How we verify art