MirageⅡ

At first glance, it appears to be a leather product with a zipper, but it is in fact a box created entirely using traditional lacquer art techniques. The texture of leather is expressed through wari-nuri (layered lacquer techniques), and the zipper is rendered using maki-e (gold and silver powder decoration). The theme of this work is the recreation of the psychological effects that mirages have on the human mind. The zipper applied to this box cannot be opened. The more familiar we are with something in our daily lives, the greater the psychological impact when we discover it is an illusion. The same can be said about mirages. For example, even if an unidentified flying object were seen as a mirage, it might not be recognized as a mirage at the moment of perception. In other words, this work attempts to explore how perception of existence changes depending on a person’s psychological state and knowledge.