Spoon & Tamago - japanese art, design and culture

all photos courtesy Yusuke Aonuma

One would be hard-pressed to find a more delicate material to create art from. But for Japanese artist Yusuke Aonuma, single dandelion fluff, the feathery, umbrella-like structure that carries the seed to faraway lands, captivated his creative mind.

Aonuma begins by harvesting the dandelions (tanpopo, in Japanese) and drying them, thereby creating an abundant supply for him to work with. He then “plants” them upright in acrylic slabs to form three-dimensional geometric and architectural shapes. Over 50 different slabs were on display recently at an exhibition in Tokyo, a show that Aonuma titled “Iki wo tateru” (息を立てる), which roughly translates as “to breath.” Aonuma encouraged visitors to gently breath on the dandelion fluff sculptures as a way of visualizing that they were real and standing upright.

Although Aonuma’s exhibition has since closed, the artist has announced an upcoming exhibition in March of 2018, which will take place in the Omotesando district of Tokyo. The exact location and dates have yet to be revealed. You can follow the artist on Twitter and Instagram.

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