NADA Miami 2022

Ed.1 : SOLD
Ed.2-3 : 1200 USD
*The price will step up after Ed.4

A young man of about college age is napping in the shade of a tree, and becomes a butterfly in a dream. The butterfly flies freely around the area, but before long, it transforms into an object that resembles a combination of a butterfly and a pair of scissors. This object (called “butterfly scissors”) is simply crafted so that when you make the blades of the scissors move in a chopping motion, a butterfly flutters its wings at the same time. These “butterfly scissors” begin to cut through the sleeping man’s clothes. The butterfly flutters daintily, and at the same time, the clothes are being cut off roughly.
Whose hands are making the “butterfly scissors” move? Is it the man’s own?
The artist seeks to create an effect that mingles sadism and masochism, active and passive, in a daydream-like atmosphere reminiscent of Zhuangzi*1’s “The Butterfly Dream”*2. He also makes reference to Yoko Ono’s work “Cut Piece”.

*1 Zhuangzi : An influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the late fourth century B.C. He is credited with authoring a work known by his own name, the Zhuangzi, which is one of the foundational texts of Taoism. His philosophy, based on the principle of “naturalness without artifice,” insisted on a return to nature.

*2 Zhuangzi’s “The Butterfly Dream” : This is a discourse by Zhuangzi on whether the dreamer’s self is reality, or reality is more of a dream. It is generally well known as a discursive tale in which Zhuangzi’s ideas are prominently expressed, and is considered one of his representative works.