Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka seeks to draw in his audiences, provoking spontaneous emotional responses and evoking memories.

Although the tactility of materials plays an important role in his work, he is more concerned with the spiritual than the physical, using the physical form to create an experience that can only be described as spiritual as it resonates with his audience on a personal level.

Tokujin Yoshioka: Waterfall / Photo: Paul Green, 2011. Image courtesy Tokujin Yoshioka and Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation

Yoshioka has brought his world-famous creations to Australia for the very first time with an installation at Sydney’s Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation.

Tokujin Yoshioka: Waterfall / Photo: Paul Green, 2011. Image courtesy Tokujin Yoshioka and Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation

A major solo exhibition of his work, Waterfall is a stunning example of Yoshioka’s vision in all its simplicity and viscerality.

The stark gallery space houses a snowstorm of 3 million straws. Light reveals itself through its interplay with transparent and white materials for a striking visual landscape.

Tokujin Yoshioka: Waterfall / Photo: Paul Green, 2011. Image courtesy Tokujin Yoshioka and Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation

Yoshioka describes his style as experimental, explaining that he always strives to create something new. Waterfall changes according to when it is seen, and by whom – with each encounter comes a new response, a different memory and a new work of art.

Tokujin Yoshioka: Waterfall appears at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation from 7 October to 17 December 2011.