Art Basel and Nowness are pleased to announce a new series titled 'Inner Worlds.' These short films take us into the artist's sanctuary, their refuge and battleground, the spaces in which they reflect, experiment, and create: the inner world of their studios.

For the premiere episodes, two very different Japanese artists are portrayed. Here, Haroshi invites us into the skate park-like setting of his Tokyo studio. Formerly a factory, the building was taken over by artists and stripped down into spaces of creation. It comes as no surprise that the skateboarder and self-taught sculptor found the studio because 'there used to be a huge skate park near here, which is why I moved to the area.'

His is a playful world, filled with antique tin toys repaired by the artist, colorful sofubi – soft vinyl figurines, and of course, a skate ramp. 'I can create better when I'm surrounded by the objects I like, no matter where I turn,' he observes in the film. Old skateboards, which are his primary medium, are visible by the hundreds. 'I want to be surrounded by jumbled-up objects,' he remarks. In his practice, he reworks these boards, stripping, layering, and gluing them together beforehand carving them to achieve his distinct, pop-culture-influenced figures. Ultimately, however, what the artist conveys in the film is the sense of community found in this factory studio, observing, 'Everyone here treasures the idea of creating something, and comes to this place to do what they love.'

Haroshi is represented by Nanzuka (Tokyo).