I've always loved Asian Lacquerware in particular because it draws heavily from nature and botanic themes. The image on the right is a detail from a piece of furniture I own, a small black cupboard covered in golden birds, blossoms and boughs. Its interesting how it reflects and catches the light in different ways through both the day and night.
I recently discovered that there is an exhibition at the Japan Society called The Genius of Japanese Lacquer which has renewed my interest again in this decorative form. In fact enough interest that I've started working a little with the idea from the point of view of silhouette and color. On the left is a study I made of some plant silhouettes digitaly rendered in gold and black. Not quite sure where this is going but I'm definitely looking to photograph more stark silhouettes of leaves flowers and branches to work with.
