"The Carp of My Dreams" (roughly translated from "Muo no Rigyo") is a print depicting a scene from the story by the same name written by Ueda Akinari, from his work "Ugetsu Monogatari". The tale is about a monk who loved painting fish, and would save fish by purchasing them from fishermen and then set them free.
One day, the monk falls ill, and while unconscious, the god of the sea reincarnates him as a fish as a reward for saving so many in his days. He warns the monk to be wary of fisherman trying to trick him, as it is easy to be tricked when hungry. Eventually, the monk’s hunger gets the best of him, and he ends up being captured and eaten by his friend. After waking up, he returns to his human body, and comes to terms with his second life as a fish being over.
This work is meant to invoke the feelings of freedom and lightness that come with being in a dream. The play between light and dark aims to guide the eye first to the clouds and slowly into the foreground where the carp is being lured towards the hook. “The Carp of My Dreams” pays homage to the classic work “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Katsushika Hokusai while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of modern printmaking using linoleum.
