Laurent Grasso

The word Eclipse refers both to a solar eclipse where the moon interposes itself neatly between the sun and the Earth, so that the rays of the sun are only visible around the edges of the moon; as well as a lunar eclipse, where the rays of the sun hit the Earth, producing shadows that are reflected off the moon. Whichever the case, an eclipse is a cosmic and celestial mystery that can be witnessed only rarely. Just like these eclipses, Laurent Grasso, an artist based in Paris, is interested in the manifold mysteries of creation and enigmatic phenomena, as well as the reverence that ancient people felt in the face of these natural phenomena. In Japan, the Nihon Shoki, the second oldest book of classical Japanese history dating from 720 AD, contains descriptions of eclipses. Regardless of the advances made by science, however, the world we live in continues to be filled with mysterious phenomena and inscrutable secrets. Gazing upon the neon glow emitted by Grassoʼ s Eclipse and the vast expanse of sky visible from the observation deck in Roppongi Hills, perhaps youʼ ll find your imagination spirited away to the majestic natural world.
© ADAGP, Paris & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2015  E1802