IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN: MURAKAMI’S JAPAN SUPERNATURAL AT THE AGNSW Melanie Eastburn – TAASA Review June 2020
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This article was originally found in the June 2020 edition of TAASA Review (Volume 29, Issue 2, Page 24).
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My big question for this painting is, what is ykai right now? What are our monsters today? What is a contemporary ykai, my ykai?’ Takashi Murakami (conv.
with Justin Paton, Tokyo, 2019: 97) W hen approached by the Art Gallery of New South Wales to make a painting for the Japan supernatural exhibition, Takashi Murakami was enticed by images of the paranormal creatures of Japan (ykai) and their encounters with legendary warriors.
In endless manifestations, from magical animals to living teakettles, ykai have populated Japanese folklore for centuries. The completed work, titled Japan Supernatural: Vertiginous After Staring at the Empty World Too Intensely, I found Myself Trapped in the Realm of Lurking Ghosts and Monsters, spans an area of 3 x 10 metres...