Subtle: The Graphite Drawings of Ozabu
Realistic but far from the real world,” is how Ozabu describes her approach to art in an email to Hi-Fructose. Based in Japan’s western countryside, Ozabu merges reality and fantasy with impeccably precise and highly detailed narrative drawings.
Take Horikawa, from her solo show, “Meguru,” at San Francisco gallery Hashimoto Contemporary as an example. The woman at the center of the drawing lies topless, a swath of floral fabric casually wrapped around her waist. One finger is caught between her lips. Her eyes are closed, a thick frame of eyelashes curling from her lids. Her disheveled hair sweeps across her forehead and tumbles over a shoulder. A pair of spindly, insect-like legs dangle above her, one appearing to graze her stomach. There’s both an intricacy and an intimacy to this piece that’s captivating. Ozabu captures the minutiae of the body– the lines in the palm of a hand, the slight crease in the middle of the rib cage– but she leaves the emotions conveyed, and the story told, up to the viewer. Is the woman dreaming? What is that creature hovering over her?
Meanwhile, in “Satsuke,” a young woman pours tea under a canopy of persimmon tree leaves. She wears long, dark hair like a cloak and one butterfly flutters nearby as another lands gently on her hand. It is a serene scene that evokes past and present, while relishing in the beauty of the outdoors.
Ozabu’s most recent works, including those that are part of “Meguru,” are influenced by her daily life. “In particular, this time there are many works inspired by insects I met in my garden,” she explains.
Ozabu captures the minutiae of the body– the lines in the palm of a hand, the slight crease in the middle of the rib cage– but she leaves the emotions conveyed, and the story told, up to the viewer.
What’s stunning about Ozabu’s portraits is the way she connects humanity and nature. You’ll notice the insects that nestle near human faces or figures that appear unperturbed by this closeness. Some pieces are quite surreal. A rooster emerges from one woman’s head, a beak protrudes from another’s mouth. Hairstyles might fall more like petals, leaves and feathers.
Ozabu’s work also displays an interest in the folkloric connection between humans and animals, like in her Kitsune series, where a woman and fox essentially become one, which appeared in “(Wander),” her 2016 show at Thinkspace in Los Angeles. She often incorporates traditional elements, like kimonos and prayer beads, into her work, creating a timeless appeal.
She has brought her unique vision to fashion illustration as well. In 2017, Ozabu participated in SHOWstudio’s exhibition “Moving Kate,” a celebration of the enigmatic supermodel Kate Moss. The artist took inspiration from a mid-1990s Vivienne Westwood runway show, depicting Moss with a cinched waist and pushed-up bosom. She winks with her pout caught somewhere sweet and surly. It’s an image that’s sexy and subversive. The following year, she reinterpreted Nick Knight’s famed 1997 photo of Devon Aoki, where the model appears with a safety pin and a flower-filled gash in a forehead.
In Ozabu’s illustration, the flowers seem to explode and scatter from the gash, but you can see the artist’s attention to the original details in the way the skin of the forehead puffs up under the safety pin.
Nature is [the] best teacher of all time.”
The characters and settings that Ozabu depicts are intriguing, but, once you zoom in on the pieces, you’ll notice how exquisite the details are. Her deft hand creates the finest strands of hair gently arching into eyebrows or forming gentle wisps framing the face. Her shading techniques capture the creases and folds that often escape first glances.
Ozabu’s process begins with a story or scene, which she then draws out roughly in a sketchbook or on an iPad. From there, it will take anywhere from one to three months to complete one of her works. She often draws with a mechanical pencil, which she likes because of the “delicate” way it can help her depict a scene.
On Instagram, Ozabu frequently shares close-up work-in-progress pics along with photos of the nature that surrounds her, which gives the audience a peak into her inspiration. You’ll see the resemblance between flower petals, feathers and the hair styles that she creates for the women in her drawings. Bugs in the wild look strikingly similar to the ones that creep and crawl into her pieces.
It’s the beauty seen in both life and death that makes nature such an important influence on Ozabu’s work, she says. Moreover, the artist adds that nature keeps her humble. Ozabu explains, “Nature is [the] best teacher of all time.”
This article first appeared as part of the Special Insert Section of Hi-Fructose issue 54, which is sold out. Subscribe to Hi-Fructose today and start with our next issue, which arrives next week!
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