Humans have admired and envied what nature is capable of creating, and in the process of desperately trying to mimic and artificially replicate those creations, we have made advances in technology.
What may have started as figurative painting, the act of replicating a scene observed by a viewer, has now become capable of recreating the structural colors of morpho butterflies, organs, genes, and even personality traits of an individual.
Wood too can be artificially produced just like the others. While it was originally done two dimensionally by printing simple wooden patterns on flat surfaces, the cutting edge 3D printing technology has evolved to the point where it is capable of reproducing the finest bumps of a vascular bundle, making it difficult to distinguish man-made from real wood.
We like to have trees around, but never being satisfied with what we have, we create artificial ones that are more convenient to us. What we are enjoying in the end is a space surrounded by fake trees that look real.
Humans seem to have manipulated technology, gained the skills to produce, and trying to become like god to make all creations.
In order to express such act of humanity, a pair of “A・UN” Komainu that represent everything in this world was created from artificial wood, as objects made of artificial wood are being viewed as a “wooden sculpture” in modern times.
Since ancient times, the motif of Komainu has been the brave guardian lions that served for the gods and kings, but this work is characterized by drawing its inspiration from modern dogs humans have miniaturized to meet specific desire and needs.
This three dimensional object made by connecting pieces that look like pixels in 3-axis, is like a virtual image that has been materialized by digital data, and depending on the angle from which you view, the artificial structure on the back side of the fake tree can become apparent, showing all the imperfections of the digital world.
The frames that cover the Komainu metaphorizes a digital device, representing a parallel world that countlessly exist in a virtual space projected by the front and back mirrors.
It depicts how strongly people in today’s society value diversity and are diversifying the subjects they seek comfort in, extending out into the digital world.
Can digital replication technology create a one-of-a-kind world?