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†rhinoceros

†rhinoceros, 2014
19× 33.3 cm / 7.4 × 13.1 in
Archival Giclee Print

ありえないことではあるけれど、日本のありふれた風景に犀がいる風景が頭の中に浮かんだ。それがずっと頭から離れず様々な土地へ行き、頭の中に浮かんだイメージと同じ風景を探した。動物園の犀、長瀞の河原、箱根の芒、日光の森をベースにイメージ通りの風景を制作した。一本の芒、岩の形、葉の一枚に至るまで完全にイメージ通りになるよう、数百枚の撮影した写真から注意深く必要な要素を切り抜き、形状を合わせて合成していく作業は思いついたことを後悔するほど膨大な工程になってしまったけれど取り憑かれたように没頭した結果、ようやく頭の中に浮かんだ風景と完全に一致した。

この作品は「脳内に浮かんだイメージを細部に至るまで完全に一致」させることが可能か? という命題に答えを出すという意味もあったことから僕にとって重要な作品となっています。もちろん答えは「YES」。すべての作品はここから始まりました。

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While it is not something that is realistically possible, the image of a rhinoceros standing amidst the every-day landscape of Japan popped into my head. This image stuck with me and I traveled to many locations looking for scenery that would match the vision in my mind. The foundations of the piece are actual landscape shots of a rhinoceros in a zoo, the dry riverbed of Nagatoro1, the Hakone2 Susuki Grass Fields, and a forest in Nikko.3 To get the blade of grass and the form of the rock to combine into a single leaf, I carefully cut necessary elements from hundreds of photos and put them together in a collage, a process which turned out to be so difficult and time consuming that I almost regretted conceiving it. By continuing with that obsessive idea, however, I was finally able to complete the image from my imagination.
Part of the meaning for this piece was that I wanted to answer the question of whether it would be possible to create an artwork that matched, down to the last detail, a picture which existed in the mind’s eye. As such, it is an incredibly important work for me and the answer, of course, was yes. It was the starting point for all of my artwork afterward.


Part of the meaning for this piece was that I wanted to answer the question of whether it would be possible to create an artwork that matched, down to the last detail, a picture which existed in the mind’s eye. As such, it is an incredibly important work for me and the answer, of course, was yes. It was the starting point for all of my artwork afterward.


Nagatoro
A town in Saitama Prefecture, located to the north of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. It is home to Mt. Hodosan and the Nagatoro River, known for its white-water rapids.

Hakone
A Japanese resort town located near Mt. Fuji and the Izu archipelago. It is famous for its hot springs, lakes, and sulphur springs.

Nikko
Nikko is a small town in the mountains north of Tokyo known for its beautiful natural scenery and historical architecture. Its shrines and temples, including a shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu, are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.


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