Webbed Within 2015
Sumi ink on rice paper and threads
Calligraphy demonstration
Artist Statement
I left my home country and have been living in a foreign land for many years. Since I’ve had fewer opportunities to speak my native language, I feel like my Japanese vocabulary has been shrinking more and more lately. However, my consciousness and awareness of my native language have become much stronger. My accent never goes away. I feel relaxed and natural when I speak in my native language. My hand still remembers the movement of the Japanese calligraphy that I practiced at a young age. The relationship with my native language will never end. This feeling reminds me of what the home is like.
In this installation space, I created an image with the letters of my native language that are always flowing and flying in my mind. The demonstration and performance with the acts of adding calligraphy pieces and threads to the web-like structure express the never-ending relationship with my native language. The choice of the letters was random.
In the show, viewers were invited to be inside the installation space, and if they would like, they could pick the calligraphy pieces and purchase them. Viewers were also welcome to request me to write the word that they would like.
Japanese calligraphy has to be created in one moment of concentration. My hope was that this demonstration would become a place for me to treasure the moment of meeting people and communicate with them in this foreign land.
This was part of a group exhibition in which I participated together with five other artists. We took on the challenge of creating a unique show by giving live demonstrations, creating artworks, and selling our pieces at the venue.