Sanemori and Yamanba

The title pairs two distinct figures from Noh drama: Saito Sanemori, the aged Heike warrior who dyed his white hair black so as to fight beside younger men at the battle of Shinohara, where he was killed in 1183; and Yamanba, the crone of the mountains, a figure of ambiguous nature treated in a Noh play attributed to Zeami. Both characters belong to plays whose extended choreographic and psychological development gives the principal performer considerable latitude. By bringing the two together in a single composition, Binnie invites comparison between figures whose age, marginality and proximity to death lend them theatrical weight. The painting medium permits the textural treatment of weathered features and elaborate costume that would be more laborious to execute in mokuhanga, and reflects Binnie's continued engagement with the Noh repertoire across multiple media.