by ANDO Saeko (b.1968)
Heisei period, 2016
Coloured lacquers and silver leaf
40 x 40 x 1.7 cm.
Sealed
“An octopus is playing at the bottom of the ocean, hidden amongst the glinting reflections of the waves streaming from high above on the sea surface. The wave patterns are created by dripping oil over the wet layer of lacquer. Silver leaf is then applied over the whole area. It is the minute variations in the thickness of that layer that creates different shades of silver leaf. As this work of art ages the lacquer will become paler, increasingly revealing blue and yellow bubbles of water bursting on the pattern of shining water, as if the season has changed into Summer.
Underwater creatures fascinate me because of their diverse colours and patterns, not just found on the skin surface but lying somewhere deep amongst the translucent cells. Many of them, just like this octopus, cleverly change their colours and patterns to protect themselves and to catch their prey. It seems to me that Vietnamese lacquer is the only material in the world which can metamorphose into such magical composition. Though natural Vietnamese lacquer may lack the strong glow of Japanese urushi, it has very high transparency compared to lacquer from any other country. Additionally, this transparency is not so prominent at the beginning, but as time passes, and the layers of lacquer continue their chemical reaction with the atmosphere, a greater transparency occurs, colours brighten, and details increasingly reveal themselves.”