Elly Iguchi, Mojyu 2

17×17×3.8cm Leather, faux fur, PVC sheet A handgun is encased within a transparent PVC sheet. The surface is adorned with a black and white Dalmatian pattern and a vibrant orange leopard-print leather, creating a coexistence of textures reminiscent of different animal skins on a single gun. The background features black faux fur and the word "MOJYU" repeatedly handwritten, forming a unique world where violence and decorativeness intersect. A handgun is fundamentally a tool for inflicting harm, symbolizing power, fear, and dominance. However, by covering its surface with flamboyant animal-print leather and encasing it in a transparent case, Elly Iguchi strips it of its original function, transforming it into a kind of fashion object. While a dangerous tool, its beauty compels one to instinctively want to pick it up, reflecting a consumer culture in modern society where even violence is converted into design and merchandise. The title "Mojyu (fierce beast)" likens the handgun to a fierce beast, while also symbolizing the aggression and desires lurking within humans. The two types of animal prints, black and white and orange, each suggest a different wildness, and their fusion within a single gun seems to symbolize the coexistence of reason and instinct, beauty and violence within humanity. The word "MOJYU," written repeatedly in the background, fills the screen like a spell or a warning, creating a psychological tension throughout the work. Meanwhile, the transparent PVC sheet serves as a showcase isolating the dangerous object, and also resembles packaging for brand merchandise, subtly satirizing an "era where even danger is consumed and beautifully presented." Through the "Mojyu" series, Elly Iguchi visualizes not the weapon itself, but the complex emotions humans harbor towards violence, power, and beauty. Viewers, drawn in by the beautiful leather texture, are prompted to re-examine their own values the moment they realize it is a handgun. This work is a quiet allegory for a modern society where beauty and violence, desire and ethics intersect, posing the fundamental question to us: "What truly is the fierce beast?"