yasuaki onishi installs hot glue + crystal sculpture in sake cellar

vertical emptiness hot glue installation in sake winery
vertical emptiness (organic parabola), 2013
285 x 570 x 860cm
wire, glue, urea et al.
hanarat: inter-world-body
asai’s winery, yamatokoriyama Japan
all images courtesy of onishi yasuaki

japanese artist yasuaki onishi has installed an immersive sculpture made from glue and crystals at an old japanese sake winery in nara prefecture, yamatokoriyama city. ‘vertical emptiness (organic parabola)’ is a mass of fragile strings that are suspended from the ceiling’s wooden beams, materializing into a volume of delicate fibers. the piece is created from long, dripping strands of liquid hot glue that are each covered in a crystalline material. by standing on a ladder, he carefully drizzles the fine threads into place, resulting in branch-like growths that hang from the ceiling in sweeping, undulating shapes. the chiaroscuro of the room becomes a significant part of the artwork’s tone: the installation takes on a delicate, aerial chroma, while the cellar it sits inside is a deep, shadowy space.‘vertical emptiness’ is part of an exhibition ‘HANARART: inter-world-body‘ and will be displayed until october 20th.

installation view of ‘vertical emptiness’

long strands of crystal covered hot glue hang from the ceiling

the fine threads are suspended in an undulating shape

a dense brush of hot glue is formed by the thin strands

a detail of the crystal substance that covers each hot glue string

a mass of crystal material and hot glue

yasuaki onishi installs the sculpture in the space

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