In Let the Wind Blow You, Ai Haibara offers a tender meditation on lightness and imagination through her finely carved wood sculpture of a young girl. Executed in soft pastels with Haibara’s characteristic blend of traditional Japanese carving and gentle acrylics, the figure stands in calm composure atop a textured, cloud-like base. Her expression is serene, her posture relaxed, and one arm extends outward, gently holding a small hot air balloon by its loop—as if ready to release it, or perhaps just returning from a whimsical flight.

The girl's dress becomes a canvas of its own, hand-painted with a dreamlike landscape that mirrors the theme of freedom and wonder. Rolling hills, miniature houses, and a scattering of trees blend into a pale blue sky dotted with white clouds, seamlessly continuing into the upper half of the garment. A tiny pink hot air balloon floats on her chest, subtly mirroring the larger one she holds in her hand—an echo that links imagination and reality, internal dream and external play.

Rather than aiming for realism, Haibara imbues the piece with a storybook softness, where the landscape isn’t something the figure stands in, but something she carries. The sculpture invites viewers to imagine what it might feel like to be as unburdened and free as a balloon on the wind. It’s a gentle yet poignant call to approach life with curiosity and play—an encouragement, in the artist’s own words, to be “fun and free.”

With Let the Wind Blow You, Haibara creates not just a sculpture, but a quiet philosophy: that there is joy in drift, and beauty in not always knowing where we’ll land.