In bonsai and suiseki, each work carries a double journey: that of the material itself—tree or stone—and that of the artist who chooses to engage with it. This edition reflects on transformation and rediscovery—how what we overlook may, through patience and vision, emerge into new meaning, and how traditions continue to evolve in the hands of artists across cultures.
We open with Min Hsuan Lo and Andrew Lo’s Decades Process: Clerodendrum inerme, which prompts us to reconsider a humble, often disregarded species—known in Taiwan as the “Bitter Blue Plate.” Once dismissed as lacking brilliance, this plant becomes a symbol of resilience, patience, and the unseen beauty that thrives on the margins.
From the United States, Rob Kempinski introduces us to a groundbreaking exhibition by the Bonsai Societies of Florida. In Rooted in Story, artists reimagine bonsai as a multimedia art form, pairing trees with music, poetry, and narrative. The result is an experience that transforms bonsai from tradition into a living conversation.
The grandeur of international collaboration shines at ASPAC 17 in Gianyar, Bali, where Budi Sulistyo and Jose Luis Rodriguez guide us through an event that celebrated Santigi (Pemphis acidula) as a national treasure and global inspiration. This edition also honors the remarkable suiseki exhibition held alongside ASPAC, where Indonesia’s own Johan Lim emerged as a rising master in stone appreciation.
