![a detail of a plush blue ammonite and worm](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-8.jpg)
Hiné Mizushima Felts Whimsical Sea Creatures Adorned with Beads and Crocheted Detail
Nested in one of Hiné Mizushima’s wooden dioramas is an ancient marine menagerie. Vibrant blue felt lines the walls of the plush environment, which houses a pair of ammonites along with tall seagrass and small bits of coral reef.
From her Vancouver studio, Mizushima stitches whimsical renditions of underwater creatures. Her soft, fiber sculptures take a playful approach to natural life, sometimes perching an octopus atop a human heart or finding a moray eel slithering out of an artery. Often depicted in pastel colors and adorned with beads and crocheted details, the creatures are friendly and even glitzy interpretations of their real-life counterparts.
The works shown here will be on view in Mizushima’s solo show Creatures and Curiosities on view from September 14 to October 22 at Boris Zakkaten in Tokyo. Find more on Instagram.
![a diorama in a wooden box of a plush blue and green ammonite and other marine creatures](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-11-960x1222.jpg)
![a black spotted white eel emerges with an open mouth from a blue aorta on a beaded blue heart. the sculpture features venus fly traps in blue and yellow at the top and stands on a wooden pedestal](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-6-960x1197.jpg)
![a detail image of a black spotted white eel emerging with an open mouth from a blue aorta](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-2-960x686.jpg)
![a diorama in a wooden box of a plush pink squid, white squid, and other marine creatures](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-9-960x1280.jpg)
![a detail image of a pink squid holding a worm with blue crochet below it](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-10-960x1344.jpg)
![a red octopus sprawls across a beaded red and pink heart, which stands on a wooden pedestal](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-7-960x1171.jpg)
![a white squid sprawls across a beaded green heart, which stands on a wooden pedestal. there are small pink and red beaded arteries dangling from the organ](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-1-960x1225.jpg)
![a detail image. a white squid sprawls across a beaded green heart, which stands on a wooden pedestal. there are small pink and red beaded arteries dangling from the organ](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-4-960x686.jpg)
![a collection of felted insects with various entomology tools and glass jars](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-5-960x886.jpg)
![a collection of felted insects](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/mizushima-3-960x702.jpg)