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| @There are four keywords that comprise a common theme that runs through all my work, some of it being based on a single keyword, others on a combination. I would like now to give a brief explanation of the meaning of these words as this will allow a greater understanding of my work. Armor ) People sometimes refer to the body as being the gvessel of life,h but I prefer to think of it as a form of armor that the spirit dons for the duration of its sojourn on Earth. The energy of life is able to pass back and forth between this world and the next in an endless cycle but the body is a short-lived entity, discarded after each visit to be broken down into inorganic elements. At least this is what I believe and I think that it is because of this that we find sight of living creatures so beautiful and dear to us. My wooden sculptures are more than merely representational figures, they are "The Armor of Life." In an effort to express this philosophy, I often create the head separate to the body, hollow out the inside and connect them with silk cords etc. (Illustration 1) Children ) There is an old saying in Japan that translates as, gGod until seven.h This stems from the belief that small children are closer to God than to the rest of humanity. This philosophy is shared by the people in many parts of Asia, where it is customary to select a small child who is then worshipped for period of a several years as a reincarnation of God or Buddha. In the same way, the children that I create are not merely pre-adult people, but mysterious, God-like beings. I also create numerous gdemonh children. These are all depicted nude with a single, small horn growing out of their heads. Japanese "demons" are not necessarily evil, as they are in the West, and many of them are simply the anthropomorphism of various natural phenomenon. They stand somewhere between God (or Buddha) and mankind, endowed with a superhuman strength, they help or punish mankind while teaching us the will of heaven. The children that I produce are all bright and innocent but hiding a childish streak of cruelty. They surpass both time and space, to appear in numerous places and play various roles. They may portray the hero in a story or appear in a historical scene, symbolizing a particular notion or concept, playing in the space that divides fantasy from reality. (Illustration 2) Animals ) Animals are also an important subject of my work. As I said earlier, I believe that fundamentally there is no real difference between humans and animals and it is mere chance that I happen to be born in human form in this world to act out my current personality. As a child, my greatest friend was a dog. I have raised numerous dogs during my lifetime and was at their side when they died. I have also kept and studied numerous other small animals but I feel that my relationship with them was much closer when I was a child than it is now. I do not use a model when creating my animal sculptures, I simply recall the feel of them that remains in my hand and let them take shape naturally. Continuity ) My works are not all individual, complete expressions, in some of them, the subject moves very slightly in each work to create a movement in a way similar to that used in motion pictures. My aim is not to create stationary shapes, but rather to try and produce an expression of the passage of time. Sometimes I will use two objects to express a single situation. Active and passive, positive and negative. In the work showing five children, each pronouncing one of the vowels or the series of a dog walking, the modification and flow of the shapes creates a expression of time passing. Also, in an effort to show they live in a different time axis I sometimes depict them appearing suddenly from out of a wall then disappearing back into it again. (Illustration 3) |
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UWAMUKI PROJECT uwamukip@big.or.jp All the text and images used on this site is copyrighted and its unauthorized use is strictly forbidden. |
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