Shōwa-period Avant-garde-Style Iron Yōkai Sculpture, Japan
A highly distinctive avant-garde-style yōkai iron sculpture from Japan's Shōwa period. Taking the ghosts and yōkai of Japanese folklore as its theme, it uses an exaggerated, distorted form to create a fantastical figure somewhere between yōkai, ghost and surreal creature. The whole structure is made of iron and hand-painted; the entire body is attracted by a magnet, and it retains the rugged texture and experimental spirit characteristic of Shōwa-era art. The head has a square, mask-like form with exaggerated, piercing eyes and a wide-open mouth, while the body trails backward like a ghost, creating a strong sense of movement and visual tension. Full of the atmosphere of Japanese grotesque art, it draws the eye immediately even when placed in a corner.
