Human's Own Evo 4

2009

Acrylic urethane paint, acrylic urethane primer surfacer, cutting sticker, FRP sculpture (unique)

107(L) x 40(W) x 38(H) cm

Estimate
400,000 - 600,000
1,640,000 - 2,460,000
53,300 - 80,000
Sold Price
456,000
1,753,846
58,763

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2010 Hong Kong

013

Showichi KANEDA (Japanese, b. 1970)

Human's Own Evo 4


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Catalogue Note:

Showichi Kaneda's "Human's Own Evo 4" takes the structural form of a racing car as its basic form of expression, but gives the car a shark-shaped external appearance. The connotation that the piece is intended to evoke is the never-ending struggle for survival on the part of human civilization. The car body is covered with a large number of trademarks and logos that reflect the general trends in society, culture and technology. In his work, Showichi Kaneda makes frequent use of the shark as a metaphor. As he sees it, the shark's behavioral patterns mirror the way human beings think and act. A shark never closes its eyes throughout its lifetime; it is always at least half awake, constantly ready to attack or move onwards, in the same way that human beings remain constantly on the alert throughout their lives.


Even in his early works, Showichi Kaneda was already making use of the shark's frightening appearance as a symbol of human society's orientation towards (and enthusiasm for) competition. His intricate structures represent the many different objects that human beings produce, while also cleverly utilizing human technology and symbols to transmit, in a cutting-edge manner, the artist's concerns regarding contemporary society. Kaneda is particularly worried by humanity's boundless greed, which is causing ceaseless damage to the environment and the planet on which we live. The way in which the shark butchers all living things around it offers a parallel to human behavior in this respect. Kaneda's creation of an "industrialized shark" or "biological car" gives this work just the right balance between beauty and hardness.


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