Onmyodo: Samuraicat Submerged in Veils of White, Crimson, Violet, Silver and Black within the Codex of Dualities

Onmyodo: Samuraicat Submerged in Veils of White, Crimson, Violet, Silver and Black within the Codex of Dualities represents one of the most conceptually ambitious works in Hiro Ando's Onmyodo Odyssey: Chronicles of Samuraicat's Dualities. Executed as a unique sculpture measuring 50 cm, the work transforms the familiar Samuraicat into an enigmatic presence whose identity appears to dissolve beneath cascading layers of color, polished steel, and flowing resin. Rather than presenting a fixed image, Hiro Ando creates a sculpture in perpetual transformation.

Founder of StudioCrazyNoodles and one of the leading figures of the Nippon Neo-Pop movement, Hiro Ando draws inspiration from the ancient Japanese philosophy of Onmyōdō, where opposing forces coexist in permanent balance. Here, visible and invisible energies overlap as pigments flow across the sculpture, partially concealing the warrior beneath successive chromatic veils. The result evokes identity as something fluid, unstable, and constantly evolving.

The composition combines brilliant white, crimson, violet, silver, and deep black into an extraordinary visual rhythm. Each color carries symbolic weight while interacting with the mirror-polished stainless steel integrated into the sculpture. Reflections merge with painted surfaces, blurring the boundaries between material and illusion. As viewers move around the work, the polished metal captures fragments of the surrounding environment, allowing the sculpture to become an active participant in its own space.

Unlike traditional heroic representations, Samuraicat appears almost submerged beneath emotional and symbolic currents. The familiar facial expression alternates between serenity and tension as flowing pigments reshape the figure's presence. This deliberate ambiguity reflects the principles of Onmyōdō, where harmony emerges through the coexistence of opposing forces rather than their resolution.

Within the Onmyodo Odyssey series, Hiro Ando investigates duality not only as a philosophical concept but also as a sculptural language. Layers of resin, metallic reflections, and vibrant pigments interact continuously, generating a visual experience that evolves according to perspective and light. Every viewing reveals new relationships between concealment and revelation, order and spontaneity, permanence and transformation.

The remarkable hand-painted surface demonstrates Hiro Ando's exceptional technical mastery. The fluid gestures remain carefully controlled, preserving the sculpture's structural clarity while introducing an expressive energy rarely found in contemporary figurative sculpture. The dialogue between polished steel and richly layered pigments reinforces the work's emotional complexity without sacrificing formal elegance.

More than a reinterpretation of Samuraicat, Onmyodo: Samuraicat Submerged in Veils of White, Crimson, Violet, Silver and Black within the Codex of Dualities becomes a sculptural meditation on identity, balance, and perpetual transformation. As a unique work within Hiro Ando's Onmyodo Odyssey, it stands among the artist's most intellectually and visually compelling creations, offering collectors the opportunity to acquire an exceptional contemporary sculpture where Japanese philosophy, Neo-Pop aesthetics, and masterful craftsmanship converge into a singular artistic statement.