Masaaki Ohya Works and Archives銅版画家大矢雅章



MASAAKI OHYA
Essays & Prints


 

 
 
 
 


When the flow of time changes, we can also see landscapes change, in accordance with the changing speed of time.
 
When we are busy, we are unable to recognise that unimaginable mysteries are hidden, like puzzles, in the landscapes that we see in the slow passing of time.
 
Whenever I was able to relax I began to pay attention to the movement of the wind and the weather, and started watching the thermometer and hygrometer which were outside my studio. I have observed them carefully, and the winds and the clouds never repeat themselves
 
I appreciate this.
 
All the phenomena will be forever fostered in this momentary impulse beyond human knowledge; they are being swayed, like a small boat being tossed about by high waves. Within such a wide expanse of sea, once again, this year, my favourite magnolia tree blossoms its glossy purple buds. The magnolia flower looks more beautiful just before its dispersal than it does when it is in full bloom. The large white petals fallen to the ground remind me of a white carpet. In a silence, accompanied by beautiful colours, the final scene reflects the ceaseless activity of Life and emits unheard yet beautiful sound-tones.
 
The action of taking a moment out of the swaying world and transforming it onto a plate resembles the action of pressing a camera’s shutter- release button. The continuity of the new forms that were created from a transformed image appears with infinite colours in the forms. The image concealed on a copperplate when pressed on the paper, vividly reveals, the subtle graduations of colour.
 
My interest in the transformation of the colours and shapes that are seen in the swaying world has become ‘a priori towane' (my coinage: made up of the Latin word ‘a priori’ and the Japanese word ‘towane’ which means ‘forever sounding’), and this has presented me with new possibilities.