by ANDO Saeko (b.1968)
Heisei period, 2017
Coloured lacquers
50 x 50 x 3.5 cm.
Sealed
“Since relocating from Hanoi to Hoi An in 2016 I have been immersed in the energy of Nature which is so powerful here that I have become just one of the creatures in the middle of it.
I see this piece as a magnified image of a living organism metamorphosing into something fantastically strange and vital.
Though I am an artist, I sometimes feel as if I am a mad scientist trying to create a creature against law of nature. Using my experience and knowledge of natural lacquer and its chemical properties, I turn it into colours, patterns, textures and shapes in order to conjure up a new life. Maybe because the lacquer I use is resin extracted from particular species of tree, and which is a completely organic material, the finished work can metamorphose into something believable.”