Year: 2014/2019
Medium: soft vinyl, leather, wood, wood case with plexiglass cover
Dimensions: 99 x 90 x 50 cm (39 x 35 3/8 x 19 5/8 in.)
Acquired from SBI Art Auction, 2024
Inside the plexiglass case lies a human-shaped body made of soft vinyl, covered in green and black marks reminiscent of fur. Instead of fingers and toes at the end of its wilting, impotent arms and legs, there are red and blue long leather straps, making it impossible for the body to stand, walk, or hold anything. In Kato’s works, there is always a coexistence of the human and the non-human: plants growing from the body, or the hands and feet portrayed in some distorted manner. Especially with pieces made from softer materials such as leather or soft vinyl, the synergistic effect achieved with the unstable shapes created by Kato further emphasizes the eeriness. The piece can be interpreted as a portrayal of the processes of evolution and degeneration, or as a perfect amalgamation of the many phases of life, from emergence to extinction.
