Year: 2023
Medium: mixed media
Dimensions: 64.8 x 62.2 x 20.8 cm (25 1/4 x 24 1/2 x 8 1/8 in.)
Acquired from SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, 2023
This work belongs to the “PixCell” series, which can be considered the most representative of Nawa’s body of work. It features a distinctive characteristic only seen in a limited number of works from the “PixCell” series referred to as “Aurora”. The breathtaking brilliance emitted from within its transparent beads is created by a coating that appears to shift from green to purple. The taxidermy used in this work is from a species of small antelope that is found in Southeast Africa. Its fur is originally reddish-brown, interspersed with disordered white stripes. The animal is characterized by a small but strong build and two short, conical horns emerging between its sizable ears. The “PixCell” sculptures are covered in beads of varied diameters. The differing refractive indices of these beads, dictated by their difference in size, distort the form of the enclosed objects. The beads serve as a transparent barrier that distorts vision and rejects tactile interaction. The physical features of the Sharpe’s grysbok, an animal unfamiliar to many in Japan, are transformed into something even less identifiable through the beads and special paint. Alternatively, those who know the animal might perceive its transformed state as more alien precisely because of their familiarity with its usual form. The artwork serves as a medium that evokes feelings of awe or reverence towards an entity that forbids touch and direct observation.
