”You See a Sheep” by Yuko Nishikawa is a lighting collection that uses hand-built ceramic shells to house the light source and thin metal wire to make the shells appear to be floating in space.
Floating objects surround you. You wonder if you too are floating in space, or perhaps in water. Gravity, the horizon, and the edges of the room disappear. You are happy. A mysterious yet warm glow is revealed through the holes against the dry paper-like surface. The composition of multiple shells is made specific to an installation site. The arrangement, the colors, and the numbers are all determined considering the layout and the volume of the space the piece occupies.
The title “You See A Sheep” is inspired by two stories. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, where The Prince finds his favorite sheep in a drawing of a box. And Model T Frankenstein by Hideo Furukawa opened by a line “You see a goat” suggesting that it is in our perception that the goat exists.
“I mix paper fiber in a wet clay body to achieve strong lightweight shells, using a coiling technique to emphasize the uneven surface and the irregular enclosed forms. Then, once the clay firms up, I cut out the holes. Next, I apply color clay to the surface and then finally fire them in an electric kiln.” – Yuko Nishikawa
