The combination of art and nature always produces surprisingly impressive products, and the Japanese artist currently residing in Montreal Raku Inoue has demonstrated that the combination is simply breathtaking.
#1 - Stag Beetle
Source: Raku Inoue
The multidisciplinary artist, in his Natura Insects series, has used numerous kinds of freshly-cut flowers to fabricate vivid insect sculptures.
#2 - Beetle
Source: Raku Inoue
The Tokyo-born artist immigrated to Montreal at the age of nine. As Inoue grows up, he became more and more affected by both Asian and Western culture, including the Japanese origami and the Canadian graffiti.
#3 - Kabutomushi (Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle)
Source: Raku Inoue
As a budding artist, Inoue thought that there must something he can do to bridge the gap between these two forms of art, bringing them closer for association.
#4 - Butterfly
Source: Raku Inoue
The artist also has the chance to be motivated by the natural environment around, starting to try out with raw materials in almost all of his art pieces.
#5 - Dragonfly
Source: Raku Inoue
He first began to put his efforts in his Natura Insects series, a collection of hand-arranged insect sculptures made from authentic plants and flowers.
#6 - Ladybug
Source: Raku Inoue
For years, Inoue has foraged his own backyard to gather petals, buds, leaves and tiny stems, which then all will be used with the artist’s creativity to crate different kinds of bugs by meticulously arrangement.
#7 - Ladybug
Source: Raku Inoue
Using floral elements only, the artist is able to create winged creatures from beetles, ladybugs, butterflies to dragonflies. Their wings are created from colorful petals and leaves, while their legs, pincers and antennae are made up from fragile twigs.
#8 - Black Widow
Source: Raku Inoue
Sadly, floral insects won’t be able to last long, no matter how gorgeous they might be. But it is the ephemerality of his pieces that gives them the most attraction, according to Inoue.
#9 - Moth
Source: Raku Inoue
And it’s all about cherishing the present and making the best out of it. Inoue’s flower bugs are available for you to check out on his Instagram page.
#10 - Firefly
Source: Raku Inoue