SATOSHI OHNO

Ohno’s use of the prism as a motif developed out of his own experiences of the world. He was struck by the tenacity of moths to fly into a streetlight and meet their deaths. He began to identify similarities in human society. In Ohno’s view, the light is analogous to materialistic lust—a site of human attraction. As a result, his prism often appears round or oval, multi-faceted like a gemstone, the fluorescent surface glowing permanently. At the same time, the juxtaposition of bright colours accentuates the prism’s artificiality; despite its scintillating beauty, its reward is only ephemeral and even deadly, just as light is to moths.

If the prism stands for artificial beauty in Ohno’s work, the forest—another recurring theme in the artist’s work—serves as an environment through which he explores the relationship between man and nature. In the ongoing series ‘Dating in Ocean of Trees’ for example, the primeval forest appears as a landscape of unlikely colours: bright, vivid and home to prisms. Ohno’s reference to forests is perhaps reflective of his ongoing fascination with nature. In 2004 the artist lived in the subtropical islands of Koshikijima as part of the Koshikijima Art Project; he has visited the Cayman Islands and primeval forests in Hokkaido; and he currently works from a studio at the base of Mt Fuji. Primeval forests signify a cycle of life, where beginnings and endings unfold in tandem.

Compared to his prism and forest paintings, Ohno’s depictions of human figures are sombre, possessing a sense of otherworldliness. The ‘Prophet’ series (2009) depicts women playing instruments as they walk through the forest or by the ocean. Abstract shapes and symbols fill the environment and subdued colours enforce the painting’s ethereality. Ohno’s self-portraits are perhaps the most disconcerting of his works, for he casts himself as an eyeless head or an androgynous nude.

Ohno was born in Gifu and received his master’s from Tokyo Zokei University in 2006. In 2013 he travelled to Berlin as a resident artist through Mercedes-Benz Art Scope, which facilitates an exchange between artists in Germany and Japan. The exchange resulted in the group exhibition Art Scope 2012–2014: Remains of Their Journeys at Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. Ohno has also exhibited at locations such as Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo (2015, 2013, 2009, 2006); Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (2009) and The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawai’i (2007). Ohno lives in Yamanashi, Japan.

Sherry Paik | Ocula | 2010