Unexpected encounters: series of silk prints based on japanese mythology

Unexpected encounters: series of silk prints based on japanese mythology

Unexpected encounters: series of silk prints based on japanese mythology

For this year‘s exhibition in Tokyo we had the topic „Japanese mythology“. So I went on a week-long dive into different mythological creatures, including many Yokais and in the end came up with the concept of „Unexpected encounters“ series where yokais or other creatures with somehow similar „perks“ get to suddenly meet each other.

Procreate

Here I will tell about one of the illustrations from the series.

This particular piece features a meeting between Nue (鵺) and Shachihoko (鯱・鯱鉾), the two chimera-like yokais!

Nue is a curious puzzle - a head of a monkey, the body of a racoon, chicken or a tiger, limbs of a tanuki or tiger, tail of a fox, or my favourite version - having a snake for a tail! On top of this it can turn into a black cloud and thus fly around, while making eerie bird cries. You are most likely to come across Nue at night.

Shachihoko is an equally curious combo: head of a dragon or tiger lion and the body of a carp, covered in dark scales and spikes. It is believed to live in the northern ocean, having an ability to swallow and hold a huge amount of water, also summoning the clouds and bringing the rain! These figures are often constructed on the roofs, with teh tails pointing to the sky.

Fascinated by the chimera-like quality of them both, I thought it would be interesting to see Nue arriving among the clouds, summoned by Shachihoko, and the two thus meeting over the ocean.

For these ones I have also gathered as much info as I could on what their appearances are described like and how they were depicted in the traditional Ukiyo e style. I colelcted a large board on how one depicts waves, ocean, clouds etc specifically in Ukiyo e in order to stay as close to the traditional depiction as possible, while giving them my own touch. 
I have created a big reference board with each creature and each "object", and studied the way the artists made their strokes - direction, shape and thickness. I also tried to stick to the traditional colours.

Then I started putting together the composition with the two, featuring a visually interesting scene:

Once the final image was done, I have sent it to print on silk: