In a journey of seeking true happiness.

"Link" is a piece created with the only shared information being the album title and the fact that it is a track using tapping sounds, with pre-existing information (language) kept to an absolute minimum. It is a subjective visual interpretation, approaching the music more sensorially by perceiving the sounds themselves and the “feel” of those sounds. It is a sensory communication trail, and an experiment, exploring the subjective and sensory images received from sound (music), and the “individuality” that emerges when translating those sounds into visual expression. It examines how these elements “resonated” (linked) with the track created by Japanese Footsteps. The project was an experimental process in which ITOAOI created the visuals purely based on the "sound" of the track, imagining and interpreting it through sensory perception. Due to the lack of linguistic constraints, the work evokes a sense of space resonating with the sounds themselves, the overflowing continuity of sound, and the feeling of sounds trapped within. These elements were translated into ITOAOI’s high-purity, subjective imagery and movements. This piece represents the "individuality" that emerged when ITOAOI translated the subjective and sensory images evoked by the music into a visual expression, and how that "resonated" (linked) with the sounds created by Japanese Footsteps—an exploration of the sensory communication between the two.

This 15-second piece was created for “JAA Omnibus: Infinite ∞ 15-Second Animation,” a segment of “Into Animation 8,” an event hosted by the Japan Animation Association (JAA), which Shota belongs to. Interpreting the theme “infinite ∞” in my own way, I handled everything myself, from coming up with the idea to creating the animation and composing the music, and completed it in less than one week in total. I worked on the rough sketches in CLIP STUDIO PAINT (iPad version) to check the motion. After that, I scanned drawings made on paper and finished the video using After Effects and Photoshop. The music was created by humming the idea into a melody and building on it with GarageBand. The vocals were also recorded from my own singing.