【Statement】

In a society increasingly driven by rationalization, I have long been interested in instincts and wildness—aspects that cannot be fully explained by rationality alone—as well as the difficulties I personally face in modern life due to my inability to fully come to terms with them. Amid this, as I have experienced repeated disasters and epidemics, I have keenly realized just how fragile rational knowledge and predictions can be. Prompted by this, I have sought ways of perceiving the world that differ from Western rationality. While reevaluating the indigenous festivals and shamanic expressions that remain in Kyushu, where I live, I have created works that connect these traditions to contemporary life.

As an extension of this, I had the opportunity to visit Tainan, a city with deep geographical and historical ties to Kyushu. I wanted to reframe my own narrative not as something confined to a specific region, but rather in terms of its commonalities and intersections with other regions.

In Tainan, the temples and the entire city were filled with vivid colors, and combined with the bustle of the night market, everyday life itself felt like a festival. There, a sense of the magical lives on within modern daily life; I felt a sense of nostalgia and the overlapping of time, and experienced a great sense of elation. And so, as if collecting the sensation of “lively bustle,” I began creating small bricolage and drawing works. By collecting and observing the colors found in temples and lion dances, in addition to familiar objects such as tourist tickets, flyers, and red envelopes purchased at the supermarket, I came to understand a culture in which daily life and celebration are gently intertwined.

I also sensed the resilience of the people who, despite the complex history of domination layered upon their lives, have retold these stories as their own and nurtured their culture while embracing this intermingling.
As an extension of these reflections, I also turned my attention to the acts of prayer and the offering of all one has when facing anxiety and hardship, incorporating them as key elements into my artwork. For me, Tainan’s “re-nao” is not merely a lively atmosphere, but a cultural practice deeply rooted in daily life. It resonates deeply with the festivals of Kyushu that I have long pursued, and I am attempting to connect them to the present while visualizing the sensibilities they share. In doing so, I aim to create works that allow the audience to re-experience the traditional magical elements and the energy of the festivals through a contemporary sensibility.