Noriko Nakamura

Moon Totem is part of a suite of sculptures in which Noriko Nakamura considers the influence of the sun and moon on seasonal and diurnal rhythms of food production. This dynamic, curving limestone sculpture is crowned with a crescent moon and textured with rope-like patterns to suggest sheaves of wheat. The artist’s poetic rumination on agricultural cycles sits within a broader interest across her practice in the way that humans live within and as a part of nature rather than separately to it. The sculpture’s texture is also reminiscent of pottery produced during Japan’s Jōmon period (c. 14,000–300BCE), named after the distinctive cord-like pattern (Jōmon) found on everyday earthenware objects. The earliest scientific evidence of plant domestication and management in Japan has been dated to this period.

Artist / Maker

Noriko Nakamura (1986)

Collection

University Art Collection

Subjects

Art and design - sculpture

Materials used

limestone

Dimensions
(H x W x D)

200 x 66 x 29 cm

Credit line

The University of Melbourne Art Collection. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Caswell and Olivia Poloni, 2019

Accession number

2019.0047.000.000

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