Mon, December 22, 2008
SCRIPT:
Cellotape art -- that's the term being coined to describe Japanese artist Ryo Sehata's work.
Each installation is made by joining pieces of sticky tape together.
He's already gone through 4,000 rolls to create 50 sculptures.
Sehata says he now suffers from repetitive strain injury.
(SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) RYO SEHATA, CELLOTAPE ARTIST, SAYING:
"As you can see my hands are criss-crossed with scars and my fingers can hardly move thanks to repetitive strain injury so it's no joke that I have poured blood and sweat in to my art pieces"
It's taken him around two years to create his masterpieces.
(SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) RYO SEHATA, CELLOTAPE ARTIST, SAYING:
"It's like a marathon. After a certain point, the experience actually starts becoming pleasant and once I get to that point its basically like a runner's high and that's when the momentum gets going and of course, when I complete the project there is certainly this sense of accomplishment."
Some visitors were surprised to learn that Cellotape was the only material used.
(SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) HIROKO IWASAKI, 64-YEAR OLD HOUSEWIFE, SAYING:
"I used to work in a stationary shop for the past couple of decades but as someone selling this. I had no idea it could be used like this. For me it's what children use to sticky tape things together. The fact that it could be made in to art was beyond the scope of my imagination."
Every weekend workshops are held to teach others to sculpt sticky tape creations
Sehata hopes to find the Cellotape artist of the future among the crowd.
