We are familiar with the way of thinking in which we divide the world surrounding us into friendly objects and hostile objects, or the “inside” and the “outside”, such as light and darkness, and the strong and the weak. Moreover, it seems we have the propensity to attribute to entities within the hostile realm features that we deem to be unfavorable.
I note the awareness and force behind our above-described habit of dividing things into two opposing categories. I also note the ambiguity and ambivalence that exists within us as we waver between the two. It is particularly by focusing on our, I mean, Japanese people’s relations with our own manners, customs, and history and also our relations with others in general that I develop my work.
The media of expression I use include, among other things, installations. I also use many other media, such as drawings and paintings, photos, sculpture, video, and workshops.
Ryo Shimizu, from Tokyo, Japan
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CNJPUS TEXT
CNJPUS TEXT is an alphabet of converted characters , prepared primarily by borrowing from existing Chinese characters with some strokes deliberately missing. It can also be defined as a set of fonts that bear characteristics of both phonograms and ideograms. The process of borrowing existing Chinese characters and extracting strokes scattered in space results in the CNJPUS TEXT.
This represents a unique and age-old aspect of the Japanese character, whereby something from the outside world is emulated, experienced, adapted and improved for the Japanese environment.
The described text consists of allegories drawn from scenes that come from my memories and dreams as well as actual events and social phenomena.
The generated space becomes the CNJPUS Galaxy that in turn generates an experience of ambiguity, a noosphere, such as reality and fantasy, life and death, orthodoxy and heterodoxy, destruction and creation, and doubt and salvation.
Color bummed tape 2010
This work features multiple strips of color gummed tape of which one end is stuck to a duct of an air conditioning system. The tangled strips with their adhesion properties resist gravity but, over several days, slowly come down together. Depicted is a scene of wavering between resistance and acceptance.
Collage 2011
This piece was created in a workshop. First, the artist got multiple participants each to paint a portrait of him. Then he cut the portraits equally. Finally, he reconstructed the sections into a self-portrait. It is a self-portrait by an artist as “Myself, conscious of the existence of others”.
Other works
More at ryoshimizu.jp
