At 9s Gallery,fromThursday, 2024/2/22 to Thursday, 2024/2/2/29, Seiko Kumagai's solo exhibition "Yuukyu no Kodomo" will be held from Thursday, February 22 to Thursday, February 29.from Thursday, February 22, 2024 to Thursday, February 29, 2024.
Seiko Kumagai is an artist who has been practicing the creation of artworks that confront the trauma of childhood memories and sexual assault victims, and has been attracting attention from the art scene since she began her production activities in 2019. He has been attracting attention from the art scene.
In this article, we will publish an interview in which Kumagai talks about her new series, in which she challenges new frontiers.
After working as a manga artist and illustrator, Kumagai entered university. While still in school, she recruited a group of friends to shoot special effects films on 8mm film. After working as an art director for a social game, she held her first painting exhibition with a friend in 2019.
In the same year, she startedYouTube " Paruparu [Motorcycle Girls Channel]" . The channel has over 50,000 subscribers (as of 2/1/2024). She also creates cartoons, illustrations, and copy for companies, and is active as a YouTuber.
His diverse style is appealing because it is unconventional in terms of expression and technique. He has established a style in which his own inner child expresses various emotions, as well as a style in which he puts his own emotions to the test based on his memories of being a victim of a sex crime when he was in the fourth grade.
Since March 2021, a series of three paintings of size F100 has been included in the museum's collection.
What made him become an artist: colliding childhood memories and traumas
-Mr. Kumagai is active in many areas, including YouTube, manga, and illustration. In this context, please tell us how you started your career as an artist.
My debut as an artist was a two-person exhibition with a printmaker friend in 2019.
As is the case with my current production, at the time I was putting layers of paint on canvas, letting my own personal emotions, especially anger and sadness, hit the canvas.
new eyes born from sun's blood》2019
Painful memories from my childhood, such as the sexual crimes I suffered when I was in elementary school, have always remained with me as a trauma.
When I was little, I didn't really understand what had happened to me, but as I grew up and gradually began to understand the meaning of what I had been subjected to, I became more and more angry within myself.
These negative feelings were a kind of motivation for me, so I created my works as if I were grinding my own heart out.
The exhibition of the works I created in this way led to a museum acquiring my work, and in 2021, I won a special jury prize at an open competition called Independent Tokyo.
These responses also encouraged me to continue creating as an artist.
New "Akkun" series: depicting the "inner child" that we all have in our hearts
-In the "Children of Eternity" exhibition to be held at 9s Gallery, you are planning to present works depicting small children in a peaceful setting.
The exhibition will feature the artist's new "Akkun" series, which focuses on the theme of the inner child.
The term "inner child" refers to the "part of you that remains as a child" even after you have reached adulthood.
Originally, when I was struggling with the childhood trauma I mentioned earlier and my relationship with my family, I learned about the term "adult children" (referring to people who grew up in "dysfunctional families" where family relationships do not function).
While reading books and doing a lot of research, I also learned about the "inner child" and had the realization that I had one myself.
So, it is a theme that I have always wanted to work on someday.
Besides, I believe that the inner child is something thatmost people carry in their hearts.
Therefore, I wanted to create a work that would speak to the inner child within the viewer, so I chose the name "Akkun," which sounds like a common nickname.
-The "Akkun" series has changed considerably from your initial style, giving a calmer impression. What triggered the change in style?
Perhaps it reflects a change in my own state of mind and the way I perceive things.
For the past several years, I have been undergoing counseling while I continued to express my anger in my artwork.
Through this process, I gradually became able to verbalize my sadness, and I am aware that my perception of things has gradually changed from a pessimistic one to a more upbeat one.
The work in this exhibition, "pofupofu," whichwas created in 2021, was created around the time when I was undergoing such a change in my mind.
pofupofu" (2021)
This is atransitional work, in which I was searching for the best way to depict the "akkun" series as it is today, while maintaining the groundwork and matiere that I had cultivated in my previous works. Until then, I had only painted fairly abstract works, so it was a continuous process of trial and error to find the best way to depict "Akkun.
In my recent works, I have been taking on various challenges each time I paint, but what I am personally particular about istheexpression of the lines.
Chill" (2024)
The inner child, "Akkun," is an existence in the mind that "seems to be there but is not.
And since he is honest about his feelings, he can be relaxed, angry, or constantly moving in circles.
In order to createsuchphysical and mental blurring and fluctuation, he draws lines that look like blotches.
Part of "Chill" (2024)
At first glance, people often think that I painted one line and then blotted it with water, but in fact, Iused a brush with a lot of water to apply paint of a color that looks like it has bled. This is quite difficult, and if the color is a little too dark, the impression changes completely.
I do it this way because the wooden panel support makes it difficult to bleed through, but I can never make a mistake, especially when the base of the work is gold leaf, so I paint with all my might.
Surrounded by love" (2024)
I also intentionally drew the space in which "Akkun" is located to make it look unrealistic. In " Yukyu," wisteria flowers are in bloom but therearefallen leaves on the ground, a combination that does not exist in reality.
The "Eternity" (2024)
The butterflies around the painting are also drawn symbolically, in homage to the symbol "♾️," which represents infinity.
I believe that the "inner child," which is born from the influence of the people and environment we interacted with in our childhood, is in a sense a trace of our involvement with many lives other than our own.
For example, when one life passes away, a part of it is left behind in another life.
I painted the butterflies in the hope that I could depict them as beings that have a great connection to all life.
Part of "Yukyu" (2024)
On the other hand, one point that I have been focusing on since the early stages of production is the base layer. I spent a lot of time layering layers on top of each other to achieve the desired texture. The base of "Yuukyuu" is mixed with sand-like particles, so when you see it in person, you can see the fine unevenness on the surface. This subtle texture gives a completely different impression from the photograph, so I would be very happy if you could see it in person at the exhibition.
However, I am not at all sure that my current style is the finished product, and I am sure that it will continue to change as I continue to paint.
The "inner child" isatheme I would like to explore more and more deeply.
My first three-dimensional work: a peaceful sleeping expression that makes you want to wrap your hands around it
This year's exhibition will also feature his first three-dimensional work.
This is the "Yuukyu no Kodomo" series. As adults, we tend to have trouble falling asleep, even during sleep time, thinking about unpleasant things. In this respect, babies fall asleep in pure innocence. I wanted to createa work that would bring viewers back to that starting point.
《Yukyu no ko 1》(2024)
What was good about trying to create a three-dimensional work was that I was able to express around form that makes you want totouch it.
Personally, I am proud of this work in the exhibition.
The impetus for creating a three-dimensional work came from a trip to Okinawa, where I tried my hand at making an unglazed Shi-sa at a local kiln. I enjoyed forming something with clay so much that I decided to make several pieces.
Of the six pieces I made this time, "Yuukyu no ko 1" and "Yuukyu no ko 2" were fired in Okinawa.
These two pieces are made of clay used for ceramics, which has a fine-grained surface.
Child of the Long Haul 4" (2024)
The other four works are made of terra cotta, a brownish-orange clay with small grains of sand mixed in.
Child of Eternity 5" (2024)
Each of the six works has a different expression and is also slightly different in size. We hope you will see these works in person.
Click here for details of Seiko Kumagai's solo exhibition, "Child of Yukyu
Seiko Kumagai's solo exhibition "Yuukyu no Kodomo" will be held from Thursday, February 22, 2024 to Thursday, February 29, 2024.
For more information, please click the image below.
For inquiries about this exhibition, click here.
