AYA OHSAKA

WORKS

2024

skinpoiesis
skinpoiesis
Deer Skin,Himeji Shiro - Nameshi (2024)
98cm x 120cm x 5cm
The entire piece is made of Himeji Shiro-Nameshi deerskin, a tanning method unique to Japan since ancient times - using only natural materials: water, salt, and rapeseed oil. Cutting leather scraps from past works to match the required pattern, Ohsaka sewed with hemp thread using traditional hand stitching. She has created here around 1600 glass bead tipped protrusion shaped small pieces with the addition of 80 round pieces. Whilst training sewing methods to special-ed students, we sewed them together. These improvisations were hand stitched into a leather base, creating an expressive fluidity, intricately intertwining hemp threads and beads. I wish to express the ancient Japanese view of nature through leather. Coming face to face with leather, respecting it, I aim to sharpen my senses and visualize the mysterious presence and divinity of human skin. Human skin: inhabited by invisible bacteria, and the organs where intestinal bacteria thrive, function as an interface between the inside and outside of nature, whilst encompassing human memories and emotions that we all carry. Utilizing the flexible and functional characteristics of free formable leather enabled me to express and realize my expression as the leather sculpture you see.