Akane Takayama

Akane Takayama

Take the Pebble

Take the Pebble is a series of conceptual sculptures by Akane Takayama.

Testosterone Tankers

A barren tree stands against an assualt by tanks as an intellectual triumph looks away.

Take the Pebble is a series of conceptual sculptures by Akane Takayama.

The Male Passenger

The Male Passenger brings back the turtle image of fertile mother and places on its struggling back the leafless tree as a symbol of male impotence.

Take the Pebble is a series of conceptual sculptures by Akane Takayama.

Buddha Rampant

A stone, an ammonite and a Buddha. Three symbols constructing a metaphor.

Take the Pebble is a series of conceptual sculptures by Akane Takayama.

Buddha Unattainable

Enlightenment lies beyond the ladder of our minds.

Take the Pebble is a series of conceptual sculptures by Akane Takayama.

The Impotent Male

A leafless tree sits behind sterile arches all balanced on a barren, grey stone.

Take the Pebble is a series of conceptual sculptures by Akane Takayama.

Buddha’s Elephant

The permanence of stone, the slow deliberate movement of flesh and the metaphysical description of reality sit seamlessly together.

Commentary on male sexuality

Testosterone Tankers 02

Away from intellect race the lustful tanks.

Take the Pebble is a series of conceptual sculptures by Akane Takayama.

The Impotent Female

The Impotent Female features golden ammonites before a single arch resting on a light grey stone.

Take the Pebble is a series of conceptual sculptures by Akane Takayama. These are works of fine enquiry and a persistence of engagement with weighty subjects. The idea of ‘Taking the Pebble’ comes from an ancient Buddhist story in which a wanderer along a beach is entreated to take a pebble of great beauty before the wave washes it away. This allegorical tale talks about opportunities in life and how it is important to seize them before they are beyond our reach. Takayama manages to translate this life lesson into a series of insights about the life of human beings.

There is something challenging in the work Take the Pebble. Takayama brings in a variety of motifs she utilises and thus connects her output consistently both physically and intellectually. A stunted tree representing male impotency, a turtle representing the fertile mother, erect tanks espousing male sexuality and Kiki de Montparnasse as woman liberated, all combine and sit upon the heavy, cold stone which is all but immortal. These large pebbles have been sought out, chosen, selected with deliberate purpose to provide the foundation of thought for the passing ephemeral issues of our lives.