Japanese lacquer is the sap of the lacquer tree Rhus vernicifera, which is native to East Asia. The characteristics of its sap were first discovered in the Neolithic period and have been continually utilised by humans for about eight milennia. Lacquer has significantly shaped East-Asian culture.

Harmen Brethouwer's presentation of a sequence of panels dedicated to the genius of Japanese lacquer, which iliuminate all conceivable aspects of it in a sweeping gesture, can be understood as an homage to a medium still largely unknown to Western artists.