Keiko Moriuchi, Heart Thread · Lu (ハートの縷・Lu・る), 2025
Acrylic and 24k yellow gold leaf on canvas
22.7 x 15.8 x 3 cm
Condition: Very good
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Heart Thread · Lu (ハートの縷・Lu・る) presents a cross section of the never-ending thread, Lu. While the thread extends infinitely into space, its tip appears only as a point. When the thread is cut across, however, its internal structure is revealed, and that structure takes the form of a heart.
This heart-shaped cross section is not merely decorative, nor is it a personal or sentimental symbol. It reflects an underlying structure that has long existed within Japanese visual culture. Similar heart forms appear in traditional architecture, including ranma 欄間 (transom panels) and kamoi 鴨居 (lintels) found in samurai residences, temples, and castles, where they are embedded within architectural space.
Historically, the heart shape referred to the eye of the boar (猪目 inome) and later became associated with prosperity and value. For warriors and merchants, inoko, the “child of the boar,” was synonymous with wealth. During the Edo period, the motif was even used as shop emblems by azuki bean merchants.
In this series, the never-ending thread of Lu is sometimes imagined as beginning with a small ♡ placed at its forefront. Yet what appears as a single point from a distance contains complex patterns within its cross section. These internal structures are not decorative images or repetitions. They exist inherently within the material and reveal themselves only through close attention.
For Keiko, this hidden order is where meaning resides. She refers to this embodied knowledge as “culture.” Within her motif theory, this relationship between what is visible as a point and what remains structurally connected beyond sight resonates with the underlying logic of what is now called quantum entanglement, a reminder that connection can precede appearance, and that the deepest structures are often invisible. Heart Thread · Lu reflects her lifelong exploration of continuity, offering, and cosmic order, where material, light, and time quietly unfold beyond what is immediately visible.