The Floating World
Samurai, a Floating World and Butterfly Hunter form a matched pair of triptychs, designed to hang on opposing walls like two sides of a false mirror.
One warrior looks across the space at the other — seeing an idealized, peaceful version of himself. Yet he remains masked, still armed, still hunting. Together they reveal the tension between who we wish to be and who we actually are within the floating world. The black-and-white panels act as stark sculptural separators — visually reinforcing the absolute divide between what is real and what is masked, between aspiration and truth.
Deeply inspired by the Japanese Ukiyo-e (“floating world”) tradition, these two works explore impermanence, discipline, desire, control, and consequence. One contemplates stoic endurance and acceptance within the flow of life. The other confronts the tension between beauty and violence — the act of pursuing and destroying what we desire most. Together they create a powerful tension across the space, like two sides of the same floating world.
Dark yet hopeful.
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Samurai Carbon pencil, blackening watercolours, and inks on paper mounted to canvas · 2023–2025
The samurai sits poised, sword sheathed, battle mask removed. He gazes across the room toward his mirrored counterpart, seeing a vision of calm acceptance and peace. For a moment he believes he has stepped beyond the floating world. The black-and-white panels stand as absolute barriers, highlighting the separation between the real and the masked. Yet this too is a false mirror — the blackening layers slowly reveal that even the peaceful warrior still carries the weight of what he once was.
The mask of: The hunter we cannot yet stop being.
The Butterfly Hunter Carbon pencil, blackening watercolours, and inks on paper mounted to canvas · 2023–2025
The modern samurai stands armed and masked, weapons drawn amid the fragile beauty he continues to destroy. He looks back across the room at the other warrior — the version of himself he wishes to become. The black-and-white panels function as rigid sculptural dividers, underscoring the absolute separation between reality and illusion, between the hunter and the ideal. The blackening layers spread like consequence across the scene. Here the mask of pursuit remains firmly in place.
The mask of: The peaceful warrior we wish to become.
Thank you for experiencing these works.
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Dark yet hopeful.
Studio visits, or related works: blairaiken@raincage.com
Dark yet hopeful.