From July 11th (Saturday), the "BETWEEN LAYERS" exhibition by IWANAMI TOMOYUKI, a Los Angeles-based creator who is active on the world stage, will be held at "ART UP" within the Men Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building Creators section on the 2nd floor of the Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building. Driven by a desire to introduce traditional Japanese crafts and unique culture to the world, this exhibition will mainly feature works that incorporate traditional Japanese materials and techniques such as burnt cedar planks, kintsugi (gold repair), and washi paper onto surfboards. We conducted an online interview with Mr. Iwanami, who was in Los Angeles, and asked him a wide range of questions, from how he became an artist to the highlights of the exhibition.

During my student days, I aspired to be a musician, not a creator.

—Ms. Iwanami was born in New York, studied English and American literature at a Japanese university, and is currently working as a creator. What led her to where she is today? There was a surprising reason behind it.

My dream at the time was to become a musician. I went to a Keio affiliated high school, so I was able to go straight to university, but when I was discussing my career path, I thought about which department would allow me to make time for music, and the English and American Literature department seemed the most ideal. I was in New York, so I was fluent in English, and I also thought it would have a positive impact on my songwriting (laughs). I'm from Queens in New York, and back in the mid-to-late 80s, when I started to get into music, bands like RUN DMC, Aerosmith, Nirvana, and Guns N' Roses were at their peak. I think it was a big influence that I was exposed to so many different kinds of music, from hip-hop to rock.

After graduating from university, he headed to LA alone with a suitcase and guitar to fulfill his dream of becoming a musician. He didn't yet know the path to his current job, but his destiny began to unfold little by little from this life in LA.

One day, after I started living in LA, a friend from Japan and a company president he knew came to visit. Apparently, the president was planning to send one of his employees to LA as a local staff member. It was a clothing agency that mainly dealt with brands centered in California, and since I didn't need a visa and could speak English, I ended up working there as a local staff member. At first, it was a constant struggle, but as I continued, I discovered the appeal of business. At the time, I had a dream of using my position to help various people, and I thought that this might be a way to achieve that before music. So I decided to take a break from music and focus on business.

—Thanks to Mr. Iwanami's extensive network of contacts, his work initially performed well, but then the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Lehman Shock coincided, and he went through a period where he couldn't achieve the results he wanted.

My income suddenly disappeared, and I had a lot of time to think, so I consulted a counselor. I told them, "I have a dream of using my position to help people in the world." They replied, "If you can't help yourself, how can you possibly help others?" That's when I started to think again about what was important to me. I realized that creativity had always been a part of me, no matter what. From then on, I focused on creative activities. My new goal was to create something in six cities around the world—whether it be my own atelier, studio, or shop, I don't know. But once I started working solely to get closer to that goal, everything started to fall into place.