Metamorphosis 2023

Biennale of Craft and design, 2023, Eretz Israel museum, Tel-Aviv, Curator: Tomer Sapir, Nir Haramt, Henrieta Elazar Brune

This work was inspired by the silver pupa of a butterfly living in the Amazon rainforest. Its coating, which resembles a mirror, offers camouflage and protection at the vulnerable stage of transformation. Nobuya Yamaguchi believes that we are living in an age of transformation towards a future state of higher human consciousness. This work creates an experiential sphere for the transformation of consciousness. In contrast to the gleaming metal, upon entering the sculpture visitors are enveloped in fibers, as if ensconced within an organic body.

The sculpture contains a sound work recorded by Yamaguchi in northern Japan, which features the sound of the evening cicada (higurashi). This sound is heard briefly in nature from the end of the summer to the autumn – just before dawn when the light is still dim, and immediately after sunset. This quiet, meditative sound echoes within the work throughout the day, for the entire period of the Biennale.