Installation at Mount Fuji, November 2008.
“Gathering bits of wood from here and there, like an insect building a nest, I create sculptures”.
Artist Nagato Iwasaki‘s lifelike driftwood sculptures are perfect examples of the uncanny valley — the feelings of revulsion and uneasiness one experiences from non-human objects that appear a bit too similar to real human beings. Japan seems to excel at this in areas like robotics technology, and indeed, the term “uncanny valley” itself was coined in 1970 by a Japanese roboticist, Masahiro Mori. Iwasaki takes this concept out into nature, blurring the line between flesh and wood.
Over the past 25 years, Iwasaki has been crafting these sculptures as part of a collection he simply calls “torso.” The sculptures themselves are life-sized at around 180 centimeters tall, or 5 feet 9 inches and made entirely of driftwood the artist collects in various locations in Japan. No one sculpture is exactly like another which makes them all seem like individuals with their own quirks and personalities. Descriptions of Iwasaki’s sculptures by viewers run the gamut from scary, unsettling, and imposing, to profound, intriguing, and otherworldly.
I love these sculptures, perhaps because I’ve always seen wood as flesh. You can read and see much more at Spoon & Tamago.
It’s interesting how an artist can make even bits of driftwood become a clear representation of patriarchy.
I thought “male looks forward, while female looks at male” was too cliche and too much of a stereotype. But apparently, this remains part of Japanese culture for some there (as here).
But the artistry is certainly pleasing. Thanks.
I expect you didn’t look at all the work, Bruce, and I think you’re reading into it, that your view is more you than Iwasaki. You’re the one assigning gender to wood. You’re the one assuming a gender binary, and which is which.* You didn’t question your assumptions in the slightest, so I’d say you’re the one with the patriarchy problem. I can’t say I care much for your slight against the artist on the basis of his being Japanese. Stinks of bigotry to me. Don’t do that shit again. Not here.
*Frinst., my first thought on seeing that photo was “two travelers on a strange world.” What you see, and what you assume says a lot about you, and how you think.
Also, it seems quite obvious to me that the figure in back is looking to the side, not at the figure in front. You can tell by the nose structure, and the turn of the head.
The figures in the picture Caine chose to feature are in reverse order in one of the other pictures in the linked Spoon and Tamago and are shown with two additional figures.
.
Me, I assigned to most of the figures.
Based on nothing conscious; entirely early imprinting.
I wonder if I can be rid of that before I die?
also,
unlike the author of the SandT article, I don’t get an uncanny valley from them,
at all.
They are very beautiful and they would be welcome at my place anytime.
This is amazing. Driftwood by itself is often a natural work of art, and I’ve seen lots of cool ornaments made from the stuff, but these sculptures are definitely something else. They strike me as real, living creatures -- spirits of the forest. I picture them dissolving into the water of a river in order to be carried by the current, and then reassembling themselves at the distant shore of a lake. If they lose a piece of their bodies during the journey, they can easily replace them with another piece of driftwood.
Kreator:
That’s exactly how they struck me.