Masao Yamamoto book signing for Bonsai

Masao Yamamoto book signing for Bonsai

Friday, Dec 13, 2019 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

In his latest series, Bonsai, Yamamoto is singularly focused on the tradition of Japanese “tray planting,” a contemplative practice of maintaining small trees thatmimics the shape and scale of full-size trees. To these photographs of the trees themselves, Yamamoto adds his characteristic surrealist touch by manipulating the backgrounds and perspectives of his compositions — a tree is larger than the moon, a bonsai teeters on a cliff, dwarfing a mountain range. Viewers are drawn in by Yamamoto’s insertion of a cultivated, “indoor” object into a seemingly outdoor setting and then back into the studio. The trick of Yamamoto’s practice is his blurring of these lines.