Crack

Size: H1,940 x W1,620 mm
Medium: oil on canvas
Year: 2025
Edition: unique
Certificate: ︎ ⚪ ︎

Signed: ︎ ⚪ ︎

In the center of the screen, a person with purple skin with his body turned towards us and closed his mouth is depicted. The green hat, which completely covers up to the neck, also seems to symbolize the stubbornness of this person's heart. A lamb is straddling this person's shoulder in a drooling manner. Lambs have a bluish white coat, but their neck reflects the color of the background and is dyed red, and their empty gaze is uneasy. The background is mixed with green and yellow, which evokes nature, and warm pink, and the black outline extending from the lamb's body is superimposed so that it moves around the screen. In Western paintings, sheep symbolize God's sacrifice.

*The “sheep” and “goat” that appear in Otomoai's oil paintings are depicted not simply as animals, but as symbols rooted in culture and religion. In Western painting, sheep have been regarded as symbols of purity and sanctity as ceremonial offerings and sacred beings. On the other hand, goats are often depicted as symbols of Satan, or the devil, and since they were like earth gods, especially in indigenous beliefs, they are treated as “pagan = evil things” within the Christian framework. However, in Japan, such a religious background has not taken root as a general feeling, so there is not much awareness of the symbolic differences between sheep and goats. The distinction between these two animals is vague for Japanese people, and it is based on historical circumstances. For example, although sheep were introduced to Japan from China in the Edo period, they were not sufficiently rooted in the culture of that time, and therefore, there are examples in old paintings and antiques relating to the Chinese zodiac “sheep” that are thought to have been drawn with reference to goats without knowing the appearance of sheep. Based on this cultural background, Auto Moai uses sheep and goat motifs to express “the ambiguity of the symbol.” The meaning of these animals, which have been clearly defined in the West, also becomes unclear when viewed through the eyes of Japanese people, and changes to ambiguous beings. Auto Moai is paying attention to that ambiguity. Sheep and goats are symbolically incorporated into the work from the viewpoint that sacred things do not exist objectively, but are established only within people's common understanding.

Dates
April 26 (Sat) - May 27 (Tue), 2025

※Reception will be held on April 25(Fri) from 19:30 to 21:00

Venue

Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 min

Address

104-0031 TODA BUILDING 1F, 1-7-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Hours
08:00-19:00

Closed

Open every day during the exhibition

Admission

Free

Access

3 minute walk from exit 6 of Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line

5 minute walk from exit B1 of Nihonbashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line

8 minutes on foot from the Yaesu Central Exit of Tokyo Station on all JR lines

Tokyo 8 min Official Instagram