EROTICISM - The Abyss of Eternity
Masayuki Kodera
The primary use of tools informed the tension between subject and object and the concept of self and others. We feel eroticism when we forget the sense of self and become one with others we reach what Georges Bataille calls Continuity. This thesis describes eroticism as described by Bataille: Physical, Emotional, and Religious Eroticism. It argues that the power of eroticism lies in the implications of a goal and its impossibility or incompleteness. At our roots, there is a structure that does not come true even if we ask for it, and being aware of that structure means being aware of our existence.
olo memento
olo memento is an art toy brand that I have been working on while studying eroticism. I decided to make a character art toy as a physical incarnation of this research. The design of non-human characters presents an invaluable opportunity to explore world-building and deep reflection on human nature. The world of olo is designed to embody the concept of eroticism in many different ways. The face displays the Taijitu of the Yin-Yang theory based on a dualistic vision of the world of profane and holy. Interestingly, depending on the situation and the shape of the body, the face may look laughing, angry, or serious as documented in the so-called Kuleshov effect. Here, an attempt is made to provoke the viewer's imagination by creating a mysterious atmosphere, or a character that is hard to decipher. The name “olo” came from the face design, but as I learned that olo means "all" in Greek, it felt like an omen. “memento” means a thing full of thoughts, but as the name suggests, I added it in the hope that this toy will be loved as a special existence for the purchaser. It also makes sense for the name “olo memento” to start with o and end with o. o symbolizes zero and the name implies life and death, starting from zero and ending at zero.
qualia
Qualia is the specific discreet quality of a feeling we experience consciously and subjectively. Qualia demonstrated that we are discontinuous. This character was designed to reference Western and Eastern religious clothing. It was named qualia, suggesting that the feeling it produces is subjective to the point of incommunicability.
omen
Named omen, this character was designed with a bird motif. Birds have a special meaning in all religions. Also, omen means mask in Japanese. The design interprets the shape of a mask, implying someone/something behind it. The low polygon refers to minimalism and abstraction, and it is designed to create further ambiguity.
aria
Candles are used in religious events around the world and have meanings such as celebration, soul cleansing, and amulets. First of all, this work was named “aria” with the theme of birth. Aria is a solo singing that indicates the loneliness of a discontinuous existence. The umbilical cord, the candle's wick, means the only continuity we had with our mother, and the act of burning the wick means we give birth to the baby.
ensemble
The ensemble, created on the theme of death, expresses continuity in the sense of a chorus. The fire here is reminiscent of cremation, and in Jodo Buddhism, candle fire is used as a guidepost for the dead to reach heaven. The transparent candles also create an unfinished state where the toys are visible but cannot be obtained until they are burned out.
Love
When I was a child, I communicated my feelings by destroying things. One day on my way home, I broke a toy that my mother had just bought; I told her I did not want it anymore and threw it onto the street. My mother was outraged, but I had a feeling of ecstasy. I did the same thing to my grandmother. What was important to me was the ability to share the dizzying sensation of destroying the toy they had just bought. There was some sadness that the toy broke, but the broken toy had a more substantial meaning for me: it was a necessary sacrifice and a symbol of the separation I felt while growing up.