Panel eleven - Selected by Midori OKI
Curator Comment by OKI Midori about “Most important place” by HARAIKAWA Aya
Traffic cones lined up on the lightly snow covered ground. The sight of various signboards is somewhat impressive.
This work represents the negative aspect of ‘cultivate’. The word ‘cultivate’ that is the theme also includes the meaning of ‘to plow’. When the artist learned the meaning of this word, in addition to the meaning of "cultivating the land", the word "cultivating the heart" came to mind. At first glance, it sounds positive, but if you change your perspective, it may also mean that there are places that have not been cultivated yet, and there are places where you have to plow.
The scene in this picture captures a place that is very warm, memorable, and important to the artist of the work. However, from another perspective, she felt that it was a scene that was cold and not suitable for ‘land cultivation’ but that most needs to be "cultivated in the heart".
It's a work that makes you think that the way you look at art varies from person to person, and is the root of its interest.
Curator Comment by OKI Midori about “Cultivate” by Olivia Martin
This work expresses the theme of ‘cultivate’ very simply using flowers. As you can see, it's made of a collage of pictures of flowers and torn paper. This work consists of red flowers and various shades of green in the background.
‘Cultivate’ mainly means ‘to plow’, including the nuance of ‘to raise’ and ‘to grow’. This work uses flowers as a symbol of what grows and spreads through cultivation. The flowers are expressed in bold colors, and are collaged in a way that makes it easy to understand, yet still conveys the theme of ‘cultivate’.
This work incorporates both digital work with photo collage and handmade work of tearing paper to create the background. I think you can feel the ‘cultivate’ from the production process.
HARAIKAWA Aya (Artist)
Born in Tokyo. She is enrolled in the Concentration in Art and Culture at Joshibi University of Art and Design. She usually takes pictures of people and the sky and creates handmade works.
Olivia Martin (Artist)
Born in Leeds, UK. She is enrolled in the Visual Communication Specialism, Art & Design Foundation Studies Course at Loughborough University. She usually produces collage works.
OKI Midori (Curator)
Born in Kanagawa, Japan. She is enrolled in the Concentration in Art and Culture at Joshibi University of Art and Design. She belongs to the Anthropology Seminar and Art Representation Seminar. She likes Ghibli works and old townscapes.