I imagine this broken flute lying beside a jungle path, the briars and insects already claiming it for their own, and ask myself what events happened to leave it in this sorry state. Could it have been merely the result of carelessness, the flute slipping from the pocket is accidently stepped upon; or is something more personal implied here? Perhaps the musician in a fit of ennuie, all too aware of his shortcomings, snaps his instrument through shere frustration and flings it away. Perhaps the flute is a metaphor for a relationship, the briars and cobweb inside testiment to a loss of attention and passion.
It seems to me that every successful netsuke has a sense of time and place, a moment captured, a story implied, but as a British netsuke carver I have no wish to rehash a classic Japanese subject. I have always thought it impertinent and lazy to rely on other peoples ideas, especially those from an entirely different culture.
Whereas 'Spiderweb', which can be found in the portfolio section of this site, is an agressive carving- the fly caught in the web, the enormous spider lurking inside and the war map itself- I am attempting to weave a gentler mood here, more romantic perhaps yet regretful too.Carved from African Blackwood, size 4" (10cm) long. Of the main photographs, the two beetles lacquered, one using gold, nashiji-style. I have used the light coloured sapwood to represent a shaft of sunlight, a sign perhaps of light at the end of the tunnel, a redemption and lifting of the spirit.
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