SIRI SIRI's first gift box, which was made in 2015, was created by arranging the black rose painting "-today today-" drawn by Yui Kugimiya, an artist living in New York. And in 2021, we decided to ask Mr. Kugimiya again to collaborate on the production of a new gift box. The one selected from among many works is "Ghost Picnic," which is completely different from " -today today- " and has a softer, more abstract painting with pastel-colored patterns on a white canvas.

gift box

As you can see just by looking at the two gift box paintings, Mr. Kugimiya's paintings, which change spectacularly according to the times, reflect Mr. Kugimiya's own thoughts and feelings, the transition of conflicts, and what can be called the zeitgeist. Rare and depicted. Her paintings have her trajectory, and she answers each question without hesitation about why this painting was born.

This time, in completing the new gift box, we asked Mr. Kugimiya about his thoughts and aesthetics of expression, and the painting “Ghost Picnic” that was adopted.

I can finally make the work I want to make from now on

At the age of 19, Mr. Kugimiya went to the United States to study at an art university. After graduating from graduate school, he moved to New York at the age of 26 and started full-scale activities as an artist. Unlike Japan, in America, where political and social situations are closely related to expression, he has always sought his own identity and expression.

“In New York, the art world is supported by a culture of collectors, and artists are recognized as a profession. Of course, no matter how well-recognized it is as a profession, it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be able to succeed quickly and become financially independent. I met people, held exhibitions, and built up my career as an artist.”

When he first came to the United States, Mr. Kugimiya said that he was just producing things that were pure and innocent, and that was also appreciated. However, ever since I started working as an artist in earnest, I have spent days facing the questions of what the art world is like, what my position is, and what I can do.

“Until now, I have continued to make experimental works just to understand that. I have been allowed to exhibit works that have been highly evaluated, but in essence, I have been able to express my concept as an artist. Most of the production was done as a work to make it possible.”

In particular, the world of painting has its roots in European tradition, and is a world that has been created from the perspective of a white man. Once there, Kugimiya said that what he wanted to express as a Japanese person, and what he wanted to express as his own experience of moving to the United States and studying art, was not necessarily what the other person wanted. In the midst of this anguish and conflict, Kugimiya has patiently confronted his own expression and at the same time has continued to confront society.

“From the other person’s point of view, the stereotyped expression of the exotic culture of Japan is the best way to express myself. I don't know." But I thought that if I continued to do it all the time and persisted in it, they would probably give up and someday they would recognize me. I'll be 40 soon, but I think it's only a matter of time before I can present the work I really want to create. ”

If you look at his career, you can see that Mr. Kugimiya, who is brilliant, has worked hard to build his career as an artist and continue to grow. "Then, now that you think you can finally present the work you want to create, what do you want to express?" When asked, "Actually, I was very happy to be interviewed at this timing. ’ he began.

After the corona disaster, I could see "everything"

As we all know, the world is currently under threat from the coronavirus. Especially in New York, during the first wave, many people were infected and died, and a strict lockdown was also implemented. Kugimiya, who was in the midst of the turmoil of New York, where the medical system had collapsed and the city had completely stopped functioning, was forced to thoroughly confront her own expression and the position she was placed in.

“During the pandemic, I was under a lot of pressure to finally decide what I wanted to create and what I wanted to say. I've started to take it seriously, and I feel like I've been able to see it just recently."

I stayed indoors during the lockdown. Since he was able to go to the studio, he was able to create something and paint, but the mental damage was so great that he could not make much progress.

“I think Tokyo is the same, but New York was always in a dizzying pace. It was just around the time that protests against racism broke out, and the landscape and the way we interacted with people, which had been taken for granted until now, were changing at an amazing speed. That's why I couldn't do the same production as before, and I think I couldn't have the same feelings as before."

I felt a strong sense of danger there. Driven into a corner, Mr. Kugimiya was confronted with how weak he was, and realized that he had tried to avoid using that weakness as bait.

“Until then, I was just trying to repair my weakness, and I couldn’t express the softness and beauty that I was supposed to have. I realized that it's okay to express softness and weakness."

It was a big realization. At that moment, Mr. Kugimiya's previous processes were all connected, and he came up with a single answer.

“I create works that look completely different each time. I just draw the same thing inside.

Do you know the story of several blindfolded people touching an elephant? One touches the nose, one touches the legs, one touches the ears, the other touches the stomach, and each person draws what they touched. Then, even if you don't know what you're drawing by yourself, when you put everyone's drawings together, a picture of an elephant will appear. I am going to do the work alone.

It's so big that I can't see "all" from where I'm standing, so I've moved to various places, painted in various ways, and finally tried to see "everything" put together. However, when I was put in a difficult situation because of the pressure caused by the coronavirus, when I looked back on the work I had done up until now, I was like, "Ah! I have all the pictures that need to be attached! ’ I realized. I could see that "everything". ”

For a long time, Mr. Kugimiya has created works in various forms, held exhibitions, and met many people. And in fact, he said that he had been feeling that the answer to the work was about to come out for a while before the corona disaster.

"I was always waiting for that moment. During the pandemic, it changed from 'I think I'll have an answer' to 'I have to do it'. ”

show what you don't draw

For four years before Corona, Mr. Kugimiya consciously drew works that suppressed individuality. The birth of the Trump administration had a major impact. Sensing the unrest in American society and the sense of oppression that is common to the coronavirus, Mr. Kugimiya decided to avoid making works that expressed his own thoughts and feelings as much as possible in order to calm himself down.

The painting "Ghost Picnic" used in the gift box this time was drawn for the solo exhibition "Naked Table" held at the gallery "Galeria Enrique Guerrero" in Mexico in 2016, just before the Trump administration was born. . Just when this solo exhibition was decided, he decided to stop personal expressions with concrete stories for the time being.

“First of all, I wanted to express the invisible existence of ghosts. But I also wanted to make fun of the heavy feeling of ghosts, so I had a picnic. I drew this shape in blue and a very light yellowish green. It was such a lovely color that I could imagine a ghost full of emptiness having a picnic in the meadow.”

We exhibited four paintings with the same concept but with different titles, but by drawing shapes with colors instead of colored parts, they were created by a group that was conscious of the existence of the surrounding unpainted white parts. Become.

Mr. Kugimiya prepared linen that had already been coated with gesso (lacquer).

“I wanted to express the idea of ​​'nothing.' There is also the teaching of Buddhism, but the state of emptiness and nothingness is originally a single existence.

Human minds are already programmed with shapes that we have seen before and shapes that we think are beautiful. It's going to be I think it has the potential to communicate through painting.

But it wasn't personal at the time. What I wanted to bring out in this painting was something that everyone could relate to and that was in their memory. People remember everything they have ever seen or experienced, so I deliberately search for and draw things that make me think, "I've seen something like this. I was

For example, in my early paintings, I acted as the narrator and had the audience listen to me. But the picture I drew this time is not like that. I wanted the viewer to stand in front of the painting and imagine their own story by looking at it. Therefore, in terms of creating an environment, the size of the painting is larger than that of a human being. ”

It is a coincidence that "Ghost Picnic" was chosen for the picture on the gift box and handkerchief. It is said that Okamoto and other SIRI SIRI staff members consulted and selected from among the many materials Mr. Kugimiya handed over. Mr. Kugimiya was not involved in that process, and I don't know the details. However, he said that he heard that "everyone seemed to have clicked on this picture from the beginning."

When I ask about the thoughts and concept behind "Ghost Picnic", I can't help but think that there was an inevitability there. A picture that makes the person who sees the picture think of a story. A picture where the number of people who see it creates a story.

“So it becomes the story of the person who receives (the gift).”

The work to find out is over, now reporting

Mr. Kugimiya started drawing a new work in the fall of 2020. What he showed me was a very simple and powerful picture of a flower. It's not too big either. It was a little surprising. In a sense, it was a very easy-to-understand motif. What does the painting of flowers drawn at this timing mean?

“This flower is not a flower that grows in the wild, but a flower that has been cut, placed in a vase, and displayed indoors. A flower that has been cut off from lifelines from nature, but still exists beautifully. …I liken it to the beauty of women that I think of.I think that beauty is not just beautiful, but that there are invisible aspects.For example, a flower arranged in a vase may be beautiful. It doesn't exist, but it dies quickly.I thought about beauty in the sense of reality, such as 'waiting to wither' or 'death is approaching.'"

Mr. Kugimiya has always adhered to classic themes in his paintings, not just this time. It is said that he is not interested in the sense that contemporary art itself has to be new, such as materials, drawing methods, and digital techniques, when it is called that.

“There is nothing new about flowers in a vase as a subject. , I think it's not the thing itself, but the ``evolving human being.'' The viewer itself is already new.So I want the viewer to be a little shocked by their own senses. Maybe they have a desire to show something that doesn't exist."

And when you compare it with past works, the difference in the painting itself becomes clear.

“The picture you are drawing now has space. There is a table, a vase, light and shadow. This is because you are creating an illusion. When I look at my work in 2014, before I came to power, it's very flat, with no depth, only shallow shadows. No, I didn't have the space ready for the painting, but now I can put the vase properly!

Ever since I was a child, I've been drawing because I wanted to know my mental state and emotions... but as I experienced things, what I was trying to know changed. What I'm trying to know also grows, so I've continued to work to learn by observing it while drawing and observing it again. But it's "finished" this time. For the time being, I think I know what I wanted to know so far. So now I'm reporting the results (laughs). ”

Once again, I look at the picture of the flower that says "report". There are clear shadows, feminine and gorgeous colors, and above all, the strong brushstrokes, which calmed my mind and quietly captivated my eyes. I think that what I really want to express may be something that is stripped away and exposed naturally.

Once the report is finished, the rest will be left to the viewers, and she will set off on a new journey. Softer, supple, and more relaxed than ever before, for an essential journey.

It was also a coincidence that SIRI SIRI's gift box was renewed at this time. But it is an undeniable fact that she has found the answer to the question she has been asking since she started painting, and has come to a turning point towards the next question. There is a relationship that inspires and stimulates each other.

Everything is accompanied by inevitability and rises up the time and space of the present.

Both SIRI SIRI and the artist Yui Kugimiya will set out on new paths from here.

Written by Yuki Hirakawa