Rieko Otake

Keeping the initial rough carving

"Tori-Tori", 2008 wood (camphorwood) / h. 73 x w. 110 x d. 35cm © Rieko Otake
installation view at Tomio Koyama Gallery, 2008

As this is your first solo exhibition, I’d like you to talk a bit about each of your works. The human figure is a prominent motif, often in interesting postures. Where do your ideas come from? In this work for example.

It’s an image of flying. I thought it would be good to join it with the figure of an owl. I was looking for the right balance.

"Tori-Tori", 2008 wood / h. 39 x w. 91 x d. 15cm © Rieko Otake
installation view at Tomio Koyama Gallery, 2008

Yes, it looks cute and its beak isn’t very threatening. But its talons are sharp. What’s this bird here?

This is a pigeon.

Its wings are huge.

Yes, they are.

Why does the figure crouched on the bird’s back seem to be trying to hide?

I was making several works at the same time and came up with this image of a forest, and then the idea that she was on the bird’s back hiding herself from something.

Yes, the whole space feels like a forest spreading out.

Yes, that’s right.

"Tori-Tori", 2008 wood / h. 65 x w. 109 x d. 56cm © Rieko Otake
installation view at Tomio Koyama Gallery, 2008

And this bird here?

It’s a hawfinch.

Are they in your neighborhood?

Yes, I think so, but I usually I first find birds in picture books and then make the ones I like.

So first you start with an illustration?

For this kind of work, I refer to the pictures while carving. I work from the photos.

So even if you’ve never actually seen the bird, you find ones you’d like to carve.

That’s right.

"snake", 2006 wood (Japanese cypress) / 31.0 x 21.5 x 17.0 cm　© Rieko Otake
installation view at Tomio Koyama Gallery, 2008

Up to now, I believe you have worked strictly with camphorwood, but this time you used different kinds of wood for each work.

That’s true. Here, I used camphorwood, there ["snake",2006 ] Japanese cypress, and there [pair works] Japanese Judas tree. [points to different sculptures]

What led you to choose different material for different works?

I was at the lumberyard, found these other kinds of wood, and thought I would try them.

How was it working with the various kinds of wood?

Each wood has its own character. Each yields a different kind of shape, so the carving each time is different, too.

A difference in softness and grain appearance?

Yes, certain shapes lend themselves better to certain kinds of wood.

"Tori-Tori", 2008 wood (Japanese Judas tree) /
right：h. 160 x w. 15.5 x d. 16.5cm
left：h. 160 x w. 16 x d. 17.5cm
© Rieko Otake

Can you explain this in more detail?

For example, Japanese Judas tree is very soft and easy to carve, but if you’re not careful, the forms can become tepid.

Oh really?

Yes, camphorwood is probably the best to work with.

And you painted these black areas?

I do. On regular notebook paper, though. I draw things from various angles, in pen.

‐I thought it would be good to make tilted figures―one leaning a bit forward, the other leaning back
"Tori-Tori"( detail ), 2008 wood (Japanese Judas tree)
© Rieko Otake
installation view at Tomio Koyama Gallery, 2008

As you’ve said before, these are not self-portraits, so it seems you’re less worried about how the human figure should look than about finding the right balance in your mind.

I think so. In wood, that is. In the block of wood that’s in front of me. For example, these two works started out as planks from a log I cut in two. When I cut the log though, it didn’t come out straight, so I thought it would be good to make tilted figures―one leaning a bit forward, the other leaning back. It’s a matter of working without a plan, of looking at the wood and then deciding on the spot what to make.

Does each work take a different length of time to make?

Yes, that’s right.

What’s the average time?

Since I work on different pieces at the same time, it’s difficult to say how long each one takes. In the studio, I always have several works under way, and work on them at the same time.

Is this the first time you’ve used a motif other than the human figure?

Yes, this is the first time. It was great for me to try something new. Having worked with nudes for so long, it got to the point where I was finishing the pieces in my mind. This time, with the wings, for example, I had to figure out how thin or thick to make them―they are strange constructions―and things like the owl’s feet were fun.

Did it make you want to take on different animals?

Yes, perhaps. I’m interested in deer.

Yes, deer have interesting forms, don’t they? I’d like to ask you now about your working habits―how many hours a day you work and so on. Do you have a fixed style?

Not really. I have another job and it depends on my workload―if I can take time off, then I concentrate on studio work; if I have to work at the job during the day, then I work at the studio at night. It varies. If I have time, I even carve in my living room. There are wood chips everywhere.

So when you get an idea, you start working.

At any rate, the works take a long time.

You said that you were working right up the last minute for this show. Can you explain how you know when a work is finished?

At some point, I just realize that continuing to work on the piece won’t really change it. It’s the feeling you get when you step back, look at the entire piece, and see that it has its own life. Of course, you can always keep working and refining the piece, but then you run the risk of losing the energy of the initial rough carving―a mistake I’ve made before―so I always try to complete the work with this energy intact.

‐I wanted to make a small work, so I cut it small.
"Tori-Tori", 2008 wood (camphorwood) / h. 20 x w. 11.3 x d. 10.5cm　© Rieko Otake
installation view at Tomio Koyama Gallery, 2008

This work is quite small. Was the material small to begin with?

That’s right. I wanted to make a small work, so I cut it small.

What’s the difference between making small works and big works?

Well, as you might imagine, small works seem easier to make than big ones. You can see the whole thing at once and carve it in your hands. Bigger pieces you have to confront more with your body. You have to bring a different sensitivity to the work, like when making a painting. Then again, maybe smaller works are more difficult.

You make big works and small works at the same time.

Yes, I do.

I am sure that you are relieved now to have finished a body of work. When you are working on a piece, do you get ideas for new pieces?

Yes, this piece [the smaller one discussed above] came me to when I was doing last-minute work on a piece for a university group show and had this feeling of wanting to escape reality. Or sometimes I may decide to rough out an idea even when things are very busy at the university, or I’ll think of a new work while carving some other piece. This happens often.