Sculpting contradictions is not easy, precisely because sculpture is among the arts the one that most easily recalls reality; it is unambiguous because it does not change form, but impresses a precise idea in marble, or in wood, as in the case of Yoshitoshi Kanemaki‘s works.
The Japanese sculptor (1972) represents with his statues the concept of ambivalence, which belongs to all people indiscriminately, because we are all characterized by contradictions that we manifest depending on the moments and places we live and frequent. The contradiction is represented by Kanemaki through the repetition of the faces of the characters he carves in wood, creating almost alien characters in which eyes and mouths multiply frighteningly, remaining the same or changing details such as the expression of the mouth.
The contradictions are not only understood as individual actions but also as spiritual oscillations, fluctuating our consideration of reality and people.
The looping effect that Yoshitoshi Kanemaki creates demonstrates the artist’s great technique, capable of giving the impression that the subjects are under a magnifying glass that changes faces and bodies. In fact, in some of Kanemaki’s works, the distortion becomes almost surreal, with the different bodies joining together, giving rise to plastic sculptures with an almost futuristic dynamism.