The carved wooden doll standing in the empty art gallery seemed to speak soundless words

Wooden doll carved by Ai Haibara — Wood Carving Dolls

As you head up at Shinjuku Takashimaya, you reach a floor that sells furniture and interior goods. It is an empty floor without many people. On one such floor is an art gallery. I wandered in and found a row of wood carvings by an artist named Ai Haibara. Fortunately or unfortunately, no one was there to see her work. The gallery was deserted, and only a few wooden dolls stood here and there, as if they were speaking to the onlookers without any sound.

This is an art gallery, not a museum, and the works on display are for sale. In other words, each piece has its own price, making it a primary market that also serves as an exhibition. When a work is sold here, a portion of the proceeds goes to the artist himself. However, if the buyer sells the work on the secondary market, the artist does not receive a penny. Even if the value of the work soars as its reputation grows, no profit is returned to the artist.

There is a movement to change this system. There is a movement to set up Artist's Resale Right for works so that artists can receive a portion of the transaction value when their works are sold on the secondary market. This way, even if the work is not well received on the primary market and does not bring much profit to the artist, the profit will be automatically returned to the artist if the value of the work rises afterwards. I thought it was something like the solidarity contributions that accompany transfer fees in the soccer world. In any case, it must be a good thing that profits are returned to the artists.

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