Artist Note
Every human being holds secrets.
I am less interested in what people say than in what they leave unsaid. In that unsaid part, I glimpse something essential about a person, and I find that captivating.
As an artist, I am often expected to expose my thoughts in various settings. I was never comfortable with that tendency. There is no need to say everything. The figures I paint do not show their emotions; they stand quietly, expressing that side of humanity.
I am drawn to figures that are somehow secretive, onto which viewers can project many different emotions.
I complete a painting by building up many layers of paint. In the end, what remains is a very flat surface with no visible brushwork. Beneath the visible surface lie traces of enormous time and trial and error. I find that process perfectly suited to expressing what I believe humans are.
These days, everything is consumed at tremendous speed. New content is created only to be immediately forgotten. Painting is a relatively slow medium. It takes courage in this day and age, but I wear a slow watch. I believe that someday, those tired of living fast may come to recognize the value of "slowness."
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Using the subject of my interest, which changes from time to time, as a starting point,
I paint stories in which human beings are the main characters.
The wellspring of my inspiration derives from pop culture such as movies and music, urban life, the loneliness and mental health of people in the modern age, individual histories and sexualities, plants, among others.
I collect and combine tiny discoveries and insights from these sources to create worldviews that are juxtapositions of reality and fantasy on the canvas.
The world and the atmosphere of contemporary society through my eyes are projected in the images that emerge as a result of my repeated dialogue with my inner self. By deforming the human figure and dialing back on realism, I aim to make it easier for viewers to connect with the characters on the canvas.
The linear elements and motifs, full of character, which hide the faces, should remind the viewer of manga and anime. I have been surrounded by manga and anime since my childhood, and they serve as devices to awaken my nostalgia. They remind me of the importance of childlike curiosity, playfulness, adventurousness, and dreams; they also act as a means of countering painful realities and difficulties.
My portraits also contain questions to my once pure self.