A shape of prayer made with mother-of-pearl.
The Buddha statue is small enough to fit in the palm of a child's hand. Yamaguchi likes small things.
He loved Enku Buddhas and mother-of-pearl inlay, so he began making Buddha statues using mother-of-pearl inlay.
Lacquerware and mother-of-pearl inlay are very mundane and time-consuming processes (and the materials are expensive), but the reason they continue to make them is probably because their thoughts and wishes are strong and straightforward.
All of Yamaguchi's Buddha statues are cute. They are very small. Their shapes and faces are deformed with simple lines. But strangely, they are not loose.
Why? Because the lines are perfectly precise, and cuteness is directly linked to dignity.
I feel that there is a heartfelt prayer embedded in the act of creating something adorable. Cuteness is embodied in something that is at the very core of one's being, as something that is essential to one's life. This is why there is a core of weight within the cuteness. And what guarantees "cuteness is therefore preciousness" is the simple yet unwavering presence of stripped-down lines.
Within these simplified lines, so many expressions, emotions, scenes, smells, and atmospheres are vividly imbued. Naturally, there is no looseness to them; rather, the lines are established on a tense balance, such that if any more lines were added or subtracted, the whole would fall apart.
However, the sharpness of these lines does not create unnecessary tension in the viewer, thanks to the cuteness of the motifs and expressions that are born from the skill of the lines.A truly comfortable rhythm is formed.It is not a large, flashy painting to hang on the wall, but has the strength to be displayed as a work of art in just a small space.
Carving a Buddha with a terrifying expression, done with a single-minded focus, is also a sincere prayer, but it is hard to overlook the fact that the beauty of this casual short story, with its sure and gentle form of prayer, is filled with the same spirit.
Not a Buddha who protects the nation, but a Buddha of the fields.
A Buddha who accepts the humble wishes of the common people.
Buddhas quietly watch over our lives, as if their cuteness itself is a blessing.
Chie Yamaguchi
Born in Nara Prefecture in 1988.
Graduated from Kyoto Seika University, Department of Product Design in 2011
After training in woodworking at a furniture factory in Kyoto, he began creating mother-of-pearl inlay while attending a lacquer class.
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