Moe Nakamura believes in hope. “From the moment we are born, the only way to establish ourselves is by believing in a world that has already been created by others." Optimistically, she believes in the world but she’s also critical of how it could be better. Nakamura is inspired by Japanese folklore, nature and kawaii figures – soft and plastic toys similar to anime characters which are often brightly coloured with exaggerated expressions. In part, they remind her of her childhood and play. These nods to contemporary culture, along with Nakamura’s use of social media, contrast with her use of traditional Japanese carving. This is a tension at the heart of her work. The old and the new endlessly collide.