ART LIVES TORIDE Where Art Is Born

I began creating artwork in the spring of my senior year of high school. When I was struggling with my career path, I learned about the Department of Inter Media Art at Tokyo University of the Arts, where I am currently enrolled, and thought it was the only place I could go. Now, six years later, if you ask me if I have figured anything out, I think I just feel like I have. Slowly, we just have to keep going.

When I entered university, I established a production base in Toride. I commute from my parents’ house now, but when I was an undergraduate student, I rented an apartment near Toride Station for two years and used it when I was busy with production.
Perhaps it is because I deal with the themes of “landscape” and “movement,” but I find that I am more inspired and my thoughts flow more when I am flying around to different places rather than staying in one place. I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate production activities into such a fluid lifestyle. How to overcome the separation between production and daily life has been and will continue to be a challenge for me.

Depending on the coronavirus situation, I am planning an exchange program to Germany in 2022. Since I will be taking a gap year with it, I would like to relax a bit while studying the language and thinking about my own production themes and creating artwork. I hope that studying abroad will allow me to reevaluate my past production style and art forms more objectively, especially in an away environment. I will probably be depressed about how my work production will look in a completely different environment than before, but I will try to hit it once.

While I admire the image of artists who “can’t live without making artwork,” I often feel depressed, thinking that I could probably live without making artwork. For me, there are many ways to communicate with others besides creating artwork, and in fact, creating artwork is like a tool that has suddenly appeared over the past few years.Yet, somehow I still cling to art. It is, of course, my genuine love of art, but it was also the decisive catalyst that changed my life, and perhaps I am still drawn to its appeal.

Of the multiple options available to me in life, I think it would be good if I could continue to choose art and continue to do so. If I had not found art, I would be a very boring person now.

Day Tripper/2020/Graduation Works Exhibition of Tokyo University of the Art, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

An installation work that examines “landscape” from the keyword “movement.” The viewer sits on a seat like an overnight bus to experience the work. From the windows, the viewers see the scenery from the train, and images of stories related to “scenery and movement” are projected on the screen in front of the train. In response to the scenery which stays where it is, many people move across there. The film makes you think about the time spent on trains, night buses, passenger cars, and all the other forms of daily transportation. And you feel as if you are tripping because you cannot keep up with the speed of the train or bus.

Space runner/2021/Atlas Exhibition-The Dentists-Tokyo University of the Arts, Toride

This is the first installment of a series of works in which landscapes encountered on the move are installed in the back of a light truck. The image is like a mobile studio. I’m in need of a light truck, rave reviews!!!! (*I am looking for a good light truck to use for themy work.)