Fisherman’s Dream
Fisherman’s Dream, Noboru Sawai, woodblock print with intaglio, 1991
Noboru Sawai was born in Takamatsu, Japan in 1931, but currently lives and works in Vancouver, Canada. A student of Yoshida Toshi, he was educated at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the University of Minnesota, and at theYoshida International Hanga Academy in Tokyo, Japan, a famed Japanese print making institute. Sawai is known for combining the traditional Japanese woodcutting medium with contemporary, sometimes provocative, subject matter.
This particular work of Sawai’s is entitled Fisherman’s Dream, the title itself containing a dual meaning. On one level, a fisherman’s dream is to collect a bountiful harvest of fish, which are depicted on the platter at the center of the piece. On another level, however, a fisherman’s dream is to fulfill his sexual desire. This dual nature of a fisherman’s dream is shown in the smaller circles at the top of the piece, and in the platter’s border. In these scenes, men are engaging in sexual acts with both women and sea creatures, truly expressing the dual nature of the fisherman’s dream.
Anne Lenehan-White and Alex Walton