- 7 min
Why do I want to cherish the time to remember the dead?
※日本語訳は英文の下です。 This summer, I was able to find a partial answer to that question, triggered by my visit to New York City, where various...
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BIO
Moeko MACHIDA is an Aichi-born artist who creates paintings under the prominent theme: the nature of life. Placing herself amid all phenomena surrounding lives, she carefully observes and perceives phenomena, thus meticulously putting them into images.
Raised by biologist parents, she has been familiar with matters surrounding vitality and has had a strong perception of emotions since an early age. Consequently, she had gotten overwhelmed by the spirits of the dead and the invisible existences surrounding her. It was her expressionist self that found a way to face those presences that she could not detach herself from.
The ideas she nurtured in studying Japanese painting and Butoh dance also have influences on her artistry. While studying at the Kyoto City University of Arts, she learned the Japanese painting method that places emphasis on sketching, through which she acquired an attitude of taking time to face the subject matter with serenity. She also started dancing in her childhood and studied Butoh eagerly during college, which led her to apply the Butoh-derived idea of the body as being amid phenomena surrounding lives to her work.
The pebble-like round aggregates that frequently appear in her paintings mirror how something in life exists and evolves, representing not only the living but also the dead.
Her ultimate goal in creation is to be aware of the ways our senses and perceptions are, and thus share them with others through her work.
Statement
I explore the invisible beauty of living beings in this world through painting with Japanese traditional pigment. I engage in mindful observation of nature in my daily life, using my entire body to perceive the hidden forces that reside within the depths of life. My creations are the tangible results of this observation and exploration.
The round shapes appearing in my works are inspired by rocks and stones, and representing life. Although minerals are typically considered inorganic, I sense they share a vital essence similar to that of living things.
Since childhood, contemplating life has evoked feelings of silence and solitude within me, along with an unknown vitality and speed, as well as a deep respect for all living things.
I hope my creations can provide an opportunity for more people to recall these sensations and feelings.
「生命とは何か」「人間とは何か」を追求する為、鉱物とその周辺にいる生物や景色をモチーフに、絵画制作を行っています。
私が描く立ち並ぶ石たちは、生命の何かが進行し存在する有り様であり、生者はもちろん死者の姿も現します。この制作は人間という生命について考えを巡らせる作業であり、作品はその検証における成果物です。
また、人間の身体と情動の関係をコンテンポラリーダンスと舞踏から学び、身体的考察をベースにした主題へのアプローチを行っています。
鉱物は無機物ですが、結晶を増殖させ、圧力によって蓄熱する等、まるで生命体のようなバイタリティーを持っていると感じられることがあります。
そのような鉱物の多様なバイタリティーを、身体と情動を通して画面上でとらえていくことは、生命体の活動エネルギーと、私の身体が同調していくことのメタファーです。
『私が石ころを描き続ける理由』については以下に詳しくまとめております。
ぜひご覧くださいませ。
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