As I continue with part 4 of “The Doraemon Tokyo 2017 Art Exhibit” at Roppongi Hills in Minato, this time we continue on to the central section of the art exhibit.
You will come upon a few artwork on the wall.
The artwork like done in a manga style is by Akira Yamaguchi.
Titled “NO-TOOL-DAY” and created in Sumi (Japanese ink) and pen on Japanese paper in 2017.
Yamaguchi wrote about his work, “I decided on a manga-like presentation, so I would be happy for you to read this work as manga. But do please also have a go at looking at it as an image. For example – after reading a certain amount of characters, please next try gazing back on them without reading them – and you may find that slightly different things appear. I hope you will experience a deepening of your awareness whilst gazing blankly at it”.
The next is by Kumi Machida and is titled “Over the years”.
Created in 2017 with mineral pigments, pigments, sumi (Japanese ink), gold paint, gold leaf, silver leaf, metal leaf, pencil and oil color pencil on Kochi paper.
Machida wrote, “Who is Dorameon to you? For me, he’s an old friend who’s been with me since the very first CoroCoro Comics. And yet, when it comes down to it, pinning down exactly who Doraemon is to me proves to be a hard task. It’s a shape that I could draw blindfolded, and yet when I come to pain him, my memories start to break up, and I can’t locate an image of him, my memories start to break up, and I can’t locate an image of him that will work as a piece of art. So, I decided to simply draw Doraemon, as he is. It’s the first portrait I’ve ever drawn of my very old friend. The white represents the passage of time”.
The next artwork you will see is are these little Dorameon-shaped creations by Nozomi Watanabe.
Watanabe wrote, “I love the shape of Doraemon’s body – those adorable short legs which give him such a dump, round look. He’s the best friend anyone could hope for – a friend who gives you hopes and dreams, gets angry, cries with you, argues with you, and always sticks beside you no matter what. He feels so dear to your heart, you could very easily forget he’s a robot. Now, I’m an adult, watching as my daughter is entranced my Doraemon, I’m overcome with awe for how universal its charm is, what extraordinary power it has. Forming Doraemon, who’s loved across the generations, in URUSHI which has been used since ancient times is my way of praying that he continues to endure into the future. I’ve tried to create here the Doraemon we all carry inside us, so that viewers can encounter the contents of their hearts right before their eyes”.
The next one by Nozomi Watanabe is titled “Time DORAvel” created in 2017.
Watanabe writes, “My favorite Doraemon scenes are those when the characters are traveling in the “Time machine”. When I imagine it, I can hear the sound effects. Even now, as an adults, I still fantasize about that little desk drawer. The feeling of the world, full of all wonders of another dimension, reminds me in some way of URUSHI. A slick of shining SHIKKOKU has a deep and glossy blackness that masks a surface’s contours, forcing us to discern it by its outline alone, and generating the illusion of being sucked up inside. In this work, I’ve tried to represent a space within another dimension as SHIKKOKU swirls. I’d like for viewers to travel in time as they journey back to their memories of Doraemon”.
In part 5, we’ll take a look at the art of Morimura & The Mohyas, the photography of Kayo Ume and more on Monday!
