11. TANAKA Nobuyuki
1959 Born in Tokyo
In Japanese the word shikkoku, literally “urushi lacquer black,” means black that could not be any darker. Tanaka Nobuyuki challenges us to see the Pokémon move Shadow Sneak in terms of this conception of jet-blackness. The mysterious nature of Shadow Sneak seems to overlap with an atavistic fear of total darkness. However, shadows fundamentally have no substance, while crafts are an art form that grows out of research into physical materials. What bridges the gap between the two is the psychological effect of viewing urushi, and this is the fact and fiction of urushi that Tanaka has been pursuing for many years. Viewers of this monumental work over two meters high may feel dizzy at the elusiveness of the phenomenon in their field of vision. The transparency peculiar to urushi’s materiality beckons the viewer’s gaze deep into the blackness, making it impossible to gauge distance. The glossy coating of the surface layer makes it difficult even to determine the outline of the work. The work is deliberately untitled, and the uncertainty of having no name leaves infinite room for imagination.
In Japanese the word shikkoku, literally “urushi lacquer black,” means black that could not be any darker. Tanaka Nobuyuki challenges us to see the Pokémon move Shadow Sneak in terms of this conception of jet-blackness. The mysterious nature of Shadow Sneak seems to overlap with an atavistic fear of total darkness. However, shadows fundamentally have no substance, while crafts are an art form that grows out of research into physical materials. What bridges the gap between the two is the psychological effect of viewing urushi, and this is the fact and fiction of urushi that Tanaka has been pursuing for many years. Viewers of this monumental work over two meters high may feel dizzy at the elusiveness of the phenomenon in their field of vision. The transparency peculiar to urushi’s materiality beckons the viewer’s gaze deep into the blackness, making it impossible to gauge distance. The glossy coating of the surface layer makes it difficult even to determine the outline of the work. The work is deliberately untitled, and the uncertainty of having no name leaves infinite room for imagination.