Drawings: A Diary or a 'Friend'

—Tell us about the drawings placed at the back of the venue.

I wanted to share my personal side through this exhibition. Therefore, I designed the entire exhibition space to resemble a "room," placing the drawings at the very back. By doing this, I hoped to envelop the entire space with an intimate atmosphere.

The drawings themselves are like a diary that I've been continually adding to, with the oldest ones dating back to around 2012. They're usually not shown much, and they often emerge spontaneously, so I believe they allow visitors to feel a part of me that's closest to the core.

—Did you create any new pieces specifically for this exhibition?

Yes, I created some larger pieces specifically for the show. Wanting the colors to really pop, I used pencil drawings enhanced with markers and brush pens.

This time, I also experimented with scanning the drawings and finishing them as digital illustrations. Since a fully digital process can be overly controlled, incorporating some analog messiness into the paintings seemed important.

—There are several pieces depicting viscous, liquid-like substances. What are these about?

Originally, I naturally visualized negative emotions like sadness or anger as something like pus coming out of the body. The presence of horns or a somewhat threatening appearance might be an expression of these negative emotions. I wanted to translate a sensation of fluctuating bodily boundaries into an animated form.

—Not limited to drawings, but you consistently use female figures as motifs, correct?

I've been drawing female portraits since I was a child. I'm not very good at expressing my emotions verbally, so when I'm sad or angry, I sublimate those feelings through drawing. When it comes to expressing my own emotions, depicting women, like myself, feels the most natural, so I end up drawing them repeatedly. It's not exactly a self-portrait, but more like depicting 'the friend who understands me best.'

Sculpture: The Struggle of a girl with her own weight

—A statue of a girl with angel-like wings is placed at the center of the venue. What inspired you to create a sculpture?

I thought it was a good opportunity to work with sculptures given the spacious venue. I had been interested in this medium for a while. I’ve attempted to learn 3D modeling several times before but always ended up giving up.

In terms of the production process, I first handed my rough sketches to a sculptor. From there, we built a 3D model, adjusted the pose, and eventually, it was printed using a 3D printer. It arrived at my place where I added the eyes and applied a distressing paint finish just before the exhibition.

—Can you tell us about the motif?

The exhibition space was designed to resemble a "room," and I thought having a girl living alone there would add realism. This girl, surrounded by information from social media, feels her body getting heavier. Although she has wings, they aren’t for flying but rather act as a weight, though she herself doesn’t realize it. The muckiness surrounding her in the sculpture is more of an external influence rather than something emerging from within. The focus is the smooth presence of the girl, but I wanted the details to be quite grotesque, which I think balanced out well.

—How did you feel seeing your drawings turn into sculptures?

I was truly delighted when it first arrived. As I added the eyes and completed the figure, it felt as though it was coming to life, which was quite magical.