‘No Shadow,’ Sculptures Series Made of Lights Makoto Tojiki

Makoto Tojiki works hundreds of optical fibres and LED lights, exploring its use in installations, figurative sculptures, as well as kinetic pieces. “No Shadow” series is inspired by the interconnectedness of light and shadow and how they can be manipulated and controlled. Tojiki begins his creative process by breaking down the light and the shadow to capture the essence of their symbiosis resulting in fleeting images that are as ephemeral and enigmatic as shadow itself.

“An object is seen when our eyes capture light that is reflected from the object. If we extract just the light that is reflected from ‘something,’ are we still in the presence of that ‘something?’ Using contours of light, I try to express this ‘something.”

Thishorse installation is part of his ‘No Shadow’ series and was commissioned for a window display for iconic luxury French fashion house, Hermes. The large 3D horse sculpture is made from strands of light and when set in dim interiors, appears as a solid structure from afar,  a brightly lit shadow at a closer glance or a curtain of light from meters away. When the lights go on, the light installations disappear, leaving only a translucent outline of what was once there. The sculptures evoke an undeniable sense of awe and wonder and take on an almost magical like quality.

Makoto Tojiki is an artist and designer who uses light as his primary medium of expression.
Tojiki, a 1998 industrial design engineering graduate of Kinki University, devoted his personal time to experimenting with light while employed as an industrial designer.
In 2003, he launched his career as a full-time artist. Early on, Tojiki produced small works intended for production, but found this limiting and branched out into artistic images of objects constructed from light, as well as jewelry that involves light reflection, such as diamonds.