Reflecting on what inspired him to work with flowers and natural materials, Raku shared, "I was always fascinated by the vast world of fauna and flora. I remember flipping through encyclopedias that my mother gifted me when I was a little kid, and among other things, it definitely influenced my current artistic identity. In time, nature became a source of inspiration and a place of tranquility where I could unwind and nourish my creativity. On one particular day, there was a lot of wind, and the rose bush in my garden was getting rustled, and their petals were getting blown to the ground. I picked them up and made a rose beetle. This became the first creation of the Natura Insects Series."
When asked about his creative process, Inoue explained that his approach is fluid and driven by inspiration. "There is no definite template which I follow, and whether I'm working on a personal work as opposed to a commissioned work can change the process. But assuming you are talking about personal work, I try finding the materials that inspire me in terms of colors and shapes. At the same time, I would think about what I can make by using the unique traits. In any case, my intention remains the same: highlighting the beauty of nature."
Some of his most striking pieces blend pop culture with nature, transforming familiar characters into floral sculptures. Explaining his choices, he noted, "This one is hard to answer because I just choose the subject based on the materials that I find most interesting, so a lot of the time, the subject is less important. When I'm working on a themed series, like the characters that you are referring to, they are characters that I came to love at a certain time of my life... whether it's in movies, books, video games, or anything else."
As Raku acknowledged, working with delicate, organic elements brings its own challenges, he shared with Bored Panda. "Definitely the ephemerality of the organic materials. Most petals do not have a long lifespan, especially after they are plucked out of the flower, so it becomes a race to the finish line as soon as the project begins. There are ways around it, like working with preserved flowers, but they are usually chemically processed in order to make them look fresh, so I'm not too keen on working with them. I would rather work with dehydrated materials, but those are obviously no longer fresh. In conclusion, I am happy working with fresh materials and dealing with the ephemerality. It's part of the creative challenge, and it's part of the fun.
At the heart of Inoue's art lies a desire to showcase the beauty of nature and inspire others. He shared, "Regardless of what I am making, my only purpose is to highlight the beauty of nature and hope that people will resonate with my creations. Sometimes, people message me on Instagram to tell me that their kids were inspired by my work and it has brought them to create their own creations by using various materials that they found. This brings me a lot of joy. I will leave it to the viewers to decide what messages speak to them since my art is not made to convey a message but rather to connect them with nature and its magnificence. Nothing less, nothing more."
