Takahiro Iwasaki

Edinburgh Castle on the Bin Bag

Takahiro Iwasaki’s Edinburgh Castle on the Bin Bag features a model of the Edinburgh castle constructed by using shiny black cards placed on top of an open, full black plastic trash bag. The model is delicate, with detailed rendering of windows and a flagpole. Despite the negative association of black plastic trash bags, this work offers a sense of wonderment in it its scale and subject matter. The fragile, ephemeral makeup of the castle contrasts the casual manner in which the bag is laid. This work was inspired by another “castle work” by Iwasaki, a contribution to Lustwarande ’11, in which a copy of the Tilburg Castle produced from a transparent white produce bag was placed on the branch of a tree. The Tilburg Castle was reproduced from a drawing found on the Internet. The castle and its base appear to have magically manifested from what initially may have seemed like an errant bag caught in the tree.