This sculpture, titled Go Back to the Heaven, was created in 2007 in An Giang, Vietnam, by Japanese sculptor Yasushi Hori.
Artist: Yasushi Hori. He is a renowned Japanese stone sculptor who has participated in numerous international sculpture symposia around the world.
Title: Go Back to the Heaven (3.2 m H).
Material: Marble.
Location & Date: Created in An Giang, Vietnam, in 2007.
Concept & Theme: Go Back to the Heaven presents two human figures emerging vertically from a monumental block of white stone. Their bodies are rendered with smooth, flowing surfaces, while parts of the original stone remain visible, creating a strong contrast between natural material and human form.
The two figures appear to stand close together, their bodies extending upward toward the sky. Their upward orientation and the surrounding open sky give the composition a strong sense of ascension, departure, and transcendence. The figures seem to emerge from the stone while simultaneously moving beyond it, suggesting a journey from the earthly world toward a higher spiritual realm.
The title Go Back to the Heaven reinforces this interpretation. The sculpture can be understood as a meditation on the cycle between earth and heaven, life and death, physical existence and spiritual return. Rather than presenting death as an ending, the upward movement of the figures suggests a return to an original or eternal state.
The two figures may also represent human companionship and the shared journey of existence. Their close positioning creates a sense of connection, while the division between them preserves a subtle feeling of individuality and separation. The contrast between the solid stone surrounding the bodies and their delicately modeled forms evokes the idea of the human spirit gradually emerging from the material world.
Hori’s treatment of the marble is particularly important to the character of the work. The highly polished, almost weightless appearance of the figures contrasts with the massive stone mass from which they emerge. This creates an impression that the human forms are being released from the stone, transforming a heavy geological material into an image of lightness and spiritual movement.
Through its vertical composition, human figures, and luminous white stone, Go Back to the Heaven explores themes of life, death, transcendence, spiritual return, human connection, and the eternal relationship between humanity and the natural world.
