Two-fold screen depicting concrete breakwaters by Junko

Two-fold screen depicting concrete breakwaters by Junko

Japan, Showa period (1926 – 1989)

Height: 65 3/8 inches, 166 cm
Width: 45 5/8 inches, 116 cm

Two-fold screen depicting concrete breakwaters by Junko

A two-fold screen in fabric on paper, depicting a group of concrete-block tetrapods or breakwaters (‘shoha’ block in Japanese) in bright blue, against a background of gold flecks on a stippled ground. The screen is signed at the bottom left-hand side Junko; the name suggests that the screen is made by a female artist.

 

In coastal engineering, a tetrapod is a tetrahedral concrete structure used as an armour unit on breakwaters. A tetrapod’s shape is designed to dissipate the force of incoming waves by allowing water to flow around rather than against it, and to reduce displacement by allowing a random distribution of tetrapods to interlock.