Cat’s Ashio Copper Mine - Light and Darkenss: Nobuaki Takekawa

Ota Fine Arts Tokyo is delighted to present "Cat's Ashio Copper Mine - Light and Darkness", a solo exhibition by Nobuaki Takekawa. For this exhibition, Takekawa will present paintings featuring caricaturised cats with motifs from Hanafuda (a Japanese playing card), based on the Ashio Copper Mine, a subject he has been exploring in recent years. The cats featured frequently in Takekawa's works may be viewed as symbolic beings that traverse freely across boundaries and obstacles, but they also serve as a filter through which we can observe human behaviour more objectively. The expressions of these cats in the Hanafuda cards depicted by Takekawa are charming and playful, yet their motifs are slightly different from the Hanafuda we are familiar with. This is because these cards are based on 'Hwatu', a form of Hanafuda that was introduced to Korea during Japan's colonial period and became wildly popular, eventually developing its own unique style locally. Hanafuda, a game enjoyed by people of all ages, has remained popular to this day. During Japan's era of modernisation and imperialism, Hanafuda was always present at the forefront, alongside the working class. In addition to the 12 Hwatu paintings, Takekawa will also present one three-dimensional work.