Katsutoshi Yuasa: Grey Scales

“0 – 255” is Katsutoshi Yuasa’s largest woodcut yet – it measures 3 x 10 metres and consists of 12,000 individual pieces. Their hues are based on the standardised grey scale used for digital images (0 – 255).
He presents a horse race that clearly goes awry. Competitions work because they follow strict sets of rules, which are known and acknowledged by both the actors and the audience. The tighter the regulations are, the more discipline is demanded of the rivals, and the more likely there will be transgressions, intentional or unintentional. Scandal, éclat, spectacle – the violation of restrictions is punished in horse races and society, in art it serves as a means of distinction: the expansion of possibilities, the overcoming of boundaries, limitations and well established forms.
Katsutoshi Yuasa shows both: traditional craftsmanship and a monumental staging of a disaster that explodes his chosen format.