An idea of world renewal by Huhtamaki Wab

MIRROR, a public gallery based at and supported by Plymouth College of Art, will present a new solo show by Japanese artist Huhtamaki Wab beginning March 18. In the exhibition, titled YONAOSHI, Wab explores our relationship to the idea of world renewal, using images of »Namazu« (a fish) from Edo woodblock prints and our relationship to the superhuman as a starting point. Through a wide range of techniques that inform the visual language of »Yonaoshi,« Wab weaves seemingly contradictory references, scales, and places into a web of relationships, reflecting on our place in this world. His artistic practice thereby moves in an animistic and non-anthropocentric world where interconnected spirits and humans populate landscapes and create intoxicating realities. Wab's depictions are in the tradition of representations of animist beliefs in Japan. His references range from contemporary manga to ukiyo-e prints, a genre of painting and printmaking from the Japanese Edo period. The exhibition YONAOSHI can be visited at MIRROR Gallery until June 11, 2022.

The term »Yonaoshi« comes from a Japanese writing system called Kanji. The syllable »Yo« means world or society, »naoshi« means renewal. In Japanese mythology, the term »Yonaoshi« is also attributed to a giant catfish that causes earthquakes. Its name is »Namazu«.