Noppera - bo - The Mujina of the Akasaka Road — 3D Printed Wood PLA on Metal by Arnaud Quercy

About This Artwork

This sculpture translates Japanese folklore into contemporary form through digital fabrication and traditional finishing techniques. The faceless yōkai from Lafcadio Hearn's ghost story becomes a study in geometric reduction, where the absence of features defines the subject rather than diminishing it.

Created using wood PLA filament and additive manufacturing, the piece measures twenty centimeters tall by twelve centimeters wide and deep, mounted on a black metal base. The smooth ovoid head sits atop a simplified torso with extended arms, each form hand-polished and treated with wood patina to bridge digital and craft traditions. The material itself occupies a space between plastic and wood, mirroring the supernatural creature's ontological uncertainty.

As part of the Spells and Magic collection, this work applies cubist-influenced geometric constraints to mythological subjects. The noppera-bō persists through multiple translations—from oral tradition to literary account to digital model to physical sculpture—with the essential element surviving each transformation: the confrontational absence where recognition should occur.

The work includes certificate of authenticity 20221231-0006 and bears the artist's signature. Standing at twenty-nine centimeters total height with the metal support, the sculpture creates an intimate encounter that requires close viewing.