Issei Watanabe

Soapland

April 3 – 27, 2008

A large castle suspended in an uncanny sort of innocence represents only the very surface of Soapland. The castle is composed of individual cast-ceramic bricks shaped as bars of soap, which then go on to rest upon various materials of an artificial nature. This exhibit compares the differences between how things appear at a surface level and the realities which often lie beneath.

As a child growing up in Japan, the artist had become quite fascinated with the notion of Soapland, a term he often heard adults mention. Of course Soapland brings to mind a place of cleanliness and fairy-tale innocence. This sculptural piece explores the disconnect of a child's understanding with the adult reality. In this case the reality was ironically opposed to the assumptions of the child; in Japan Soapland refers to a red-light district.

Soapland is considered to be a place of degradation, but the word itself is ambiguous and suggests something quite the opposite. This work capitalizes on this discrepancy in language: a proud fortress built on dissemblance and lost innocence. Soapland acts as part of the artists ongoing exploration of the differences in culture, language, routine, and behavior between Japan and the United States.