Time and clocks assignment: Relation to an artwork

‘Lechku & Nechku’ relation to clocks and time

By Sander. H. Hjallen

Origins

The artwork known as ‘Lechku & Nechku’ was originally created for the game ‘Okami’, made for the Playstation 2 by Clover Studios. Clover Studios was closed some years ago, so the original artist is unknown. The game ‘Okami’, is based of Japanese mythology, and the whole art direction is ancient Japanese art style. The artwork ‘Lechku & Nechku’ is also drawn in Japanese art-style. The characters Lechku and Nechku, in the game, are two demonic twin owls with the power to control time. Their names and appearance aren’t directly based off Japanese mythology, even though owls in Japan can be acknowledged as a symbol of negative qualities.

An interesting detail about these figures is their physical appearance. Both the owl have an industrial theme to them, even though the story is set in ancient Japan. This suggest that these figures are not affected by the current setting of time and are indeed “timeless”. I have chosen the time of the artwork to be “stopped”, not because of the characters themselves, but because of how the picture is drawn. The way the two owls just stands with their neutral looks on their faces and how their piercing stares creeps you out, suggest that their current position is fixed. I think that the artist(s) who drew this wanted to create this effect, and were highly successful. 

Even thought the two owls are highly similar, their details contradicts each other. The color of the the left owl (Lechku) is gold, while the color of the right owl (Nechku) is silver. The top hat of Lechku is bent, while the top hat of Nechku is completely straight. Lechku has a beard, while Nechku has a mustache Lechku’s cane is hinged, while Nechku’s cane is not.  Lechku has ears, while Nechku has no ears. Lechku has a regular-style clock with roman numerals on his chest, while Nechku has a clock which could resemble a digital clock with japanese numbers. These differences may symbolize different versions, ways of perceiving, or ways of understanding time. It could also just be a way to differentiate the two owls. Since both the owls are demons, they may also symbolize the cruel/evil parts of time.

I think this piece of artwork symbolizes time in an interesting way, prior of it not being a painting of an official artist. Even though the artwork does not directly connect to time, I believe the characters behind the painting does so in a unique manner.