Ikebana by Hany Armanious

Being

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Making

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Ikebana

Ikebana

Artist

Hany Armanious
Production Date

2013
Medium

resin
Size

1530 x 400 x 500 mm
Credit

Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2013
Accession Number

C2013/1/5.1-6
Accession Date

17 May 2013
Department

International Art
Classification

Object
Collection

Chartwell
Description

Ikebana (living flowers) is a special form of Japanese floral arrangement where emphasis is placed not on a central group of flowers but instead on the entire arrangement formed from the lines in a stem and the volume of the leaves and flowers in space. While intentionally raw in finish, this sculpture is similarly crafted with great care. On first impression the work appears to be made of readymade or found objects, but Ikebana is actually a careful constellation of reproductions. His distinctive green ‘acrylic’ base is a cast from tinted resin. The ‘protective paper’ that normally functions to protect acrylic sheets has been carefully cast as part of a sculpture which never required protection. The work blurs the categories of representation and readymade, object and support, and this is primarily achieved through Armanious’s trademark casting processes. (A world undone: Works from the Chartwell Collection, 8 Nov 2014 — 6 Apr 2015)