我向往着远古时代，那时日本的人们崇尚自然：太阳、山、树、石……事实上，在日本的神话中，有一些神灵的名字与之息息相关，太阳神，风之神，树神等等……

我相信与欧洲文明相对的远东文化中，古时的居民与自然有着友好的关系。当我到达意大利时，我感受到了这种差异，感受到我是多么的“日本人”。

所以我努力去表达这种与自然和谐相处的渴望，突然我有了一个想法，那就是通过我的艺术作品来传递对这些神的尊重。我开始建造空间的空和满，在上面放置屋隅。

如果自然是超自然的外在，那么我相信存在着一种更高级的智慧，可以被称为神。我使用大理石和木头，因为在我的作品中经常出现的主题之一是时间。

让我进一步来解释我自己：当我来到意大利的时候，我看到的第一个城市是罗马。古罗马斗兽场，论坛，卡拉卡拉的热浴场。这些纪念碑给我留下了深刻的印象，因为在它们的墙壁里，只有方形的洞，而不是木制的部分。通过这些痕迹，我可以想象他们的原始面貌，并意识到时间：随着时间在流逝，木头和大理石之间的关系发生了变化。木头是一种柔软的材料，它会慢慢变黑、发霉、剥落、腐烂，最后消失。虽然大理石具有抵抗力，经过时间也会变黑腐蚀，在一些缺陷的地方，水可能会渗入和结冰，甚至会裂开一些裂口。因此，这两种材料都会受到时间的影响，但由于时间对他们的影响不同，两者之间的关系也在不断变化。我试图通过我的作品来讨论的另一个主旨是结构之间的关系，影射着由人类建造的建筑和自然之间的关系。在作品中，屋隅是人类的结构；大理石块粗略地勾勒着，象征着自然。

——杉山功

I had a longing for the ancient times, when people in Japan would still adore the natural elements: the sun, a mountain, a tree, a big stone... In fact, in Japanese mythology, there are divinities with names such as: God of Sun, God of the Wind, the Tree, the Big Stone...

I believe that the ancient populations of the Far East, in opposite to the European civilisations, had a friendship-like relation with nature. On my arrival in Italy I perceived this difference and understood how deeply "Japanese" I am.

So I searched to express this longing and this way of living in harmony with nature, and suddenly I had got the idea which allowed to me to transfer this respect for these Gods by my artworks. I started to build empty and full spaces and above I placed roofs.

If nature is the expression of the supernatural, so I can believe in the existence of a superior intelligence which might be called God. I am using marble and wood because one of the themes which often recurs in my works is time.

I will try to explain myself better: When I came to Italy, the first town I saw, was Rome. The Colosseum, the Forums, the Thermal Baths of Caracalla. These monuments deeply impressed me because in their walls, instead of the wooden parts, there were only square holes left. Through these traces I could imagine their original aspect and became aware of the time passing by: namely, while time is passing, the relations between the parts in wood and the marble-ones change. Wood is a soft material which slowly gets darker, mouldy, it flakes, it rots and finally it disappears. On the contrary marble is resistant, even if it will be modified in the long run, becoming darker and erodes in the corners and there, where the marble has some defects, water may infiltrate and icing, it may even open some splits. Therefore, both the materials will suffer from the effects of time, but as this is happening in different ways, the relation between the two is changing continuously. Another theme I am trying to develop through my works is the relation between the structure, meant as a construction made by humans, and nature. In my works the roofs are the structure and the blocks of marble, scantily sketched, are representing nature.

--Isao Sugiyama