Masumi Kataoka: Out of Longing

From Houston Community College:

“This series is inspired by mythical creatures such as Chimera, animal hybrids as well as religious symbolism, Buddhist or Hindu statues that have multiple limbs or body parts. Kataoka is interested in how man’s longings creates symbolism. At the beginning, she combined cicada and snails, for their shared symbolism of rebirth/recycle. This coupling also came from an instinctive reaction to the earth-bond nature of snails—she wondered if they wished they could fly. In this body of work, she has also included different animals that may have opposing or unrelated symbolic meanings.

Her inspiration is based on man’s need to personify his wishes and longings for what does not exist, so that he can make sense of the world. By doing so, he becomes something against the natural order. Man can conceive what he can’t comprehend.

A human is a paradoxical creature in that his greatest longing puts him at odds with his very nature instead of trying to reconcile his place in the world.

Man is aware of his inevitable non-existence, yet utterly unable to do anything about it. Why would nature reach such a zenith? Man is at once a part of the natural order, yet not part of it.

Kataoka is also interested in the ability of jewelry to have a talisman-like ability—she wants her work to have that quality and still be very personal. Thus all her work is consciously placed within the wearable art genre.

This work is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.”