Number Shadow Sculptures

"Through my work I wish to remind ourselves of how we preconceive what is around and inside us. Knowledge, ideas, and values are too often accepted without questioning. Can we find a way to evaporate ourselves from a pond and condensate over an ocean? Can we see a common thread that connects all things?"

   Kumi Yamashita is a fascinating artist from Japan. She works mainly on installation pieces that are constructed by using the most intriguing materials to trace figures in the most unlikely ways. In it, Yamashita questions all our expectations, by challenging our perceptions of predictable relationships between solids and their shadows. For example, on the wall, illuminated by a single light source (see below), you can see an arrangement of numbered 3D blocks. These appear to be scattered randomly on the wall, however, under this apparent chaotic assemblage lies a poetic order... The artist has cleverly arranged these so that each throws a particular shadow which, when taken with all the other precisely placed objects, astonishingly adds up to the illusion of a lifelike form! You can get more info about her art on Yamashita's site.