Yoshihiro Suda

Images from www.mattress.org, www.recirca.com, www.wohnmaschine.de

Jess:
While flicking through a copy of Object No. 43 the work of Tokyo based artist Yoshihiro Suda caught my eye. He began as a graphic designer but threw that in and started carving plants out of wood. He makes site specific installations with the aim of combining contemporary art practice with the traditional beauty of handicraft, which appeals to the Japanese appreciation of cultural traditions. He carves lifelike flowers and weeds out of wood and then places them in the cracks of the floor, or growing out of a wall. He once said that for him, "his work is closer to a Mercedes car than to nature, as it demonstrates the beauty that human hands can make possible"
I have a huge admiration for his ability to carve the wood in such a way, but what I love most about his work is it's subtleness. He uses areas of the space that would normally be looked over - the corners of the room, cracks in the floor, window sills, walls and areas above head height. Imagine walking into a gallery that is seemingly empty, and then slowly discovering that the room is actully full. I love that Suda has obviously thought a lot about where each piece is placed and has shown a consideration for the whole experience surrounding the work and not just the object that makes up the work. He says "when one sees something, there is no way that he can eliminate the space around it." Although the works are small, I would imagine that they would leave a big impression on the viewer. I think that the work would have possibilities outside a traditional gallery, too. In an industrial space for instance, amongst all the concrete and metal, where something like this would be so unlikely, a small piece of organic life would bring the space alive.