Kazuaki
In a city with a population of 2 million, I still feel lonely sometimes. My body of work explores ideas about perspective and isolated figures to show the loneliness that we feel in the city. The subject of my artworks are mainly staircases and isolated figures. These show ideas of empty spaces, and feelings of people who are alone.
I started with observational drawings of Paris city to show the idea of emptiness. The first work to show that idea of perspective in a city is Perspective. In the next two works, Depth and Staircase, I tried different approaches to materials to show empty places more effectively. I explored the 3D ceramic creation in Staircase, and 2D acrylic drawing in Depth. As a result, 2D work feels more natural to express the feeling of solitude, loneliness and emptiness. I used very watered down acrylic paint to create works in tones of gray. I started exploring the subject of isolated figures from the artwork Suicidal. The artwork Facial expression is a drawing of inner emotion of those isolated figures.
My artwork was inspired by artist Jeffery Smart. He draws isolated figures in the wide and empty space to express isolation. I was inspired by his use of perspective and composition. I was also influenced by Edward Hopper and his portrayal of loneliness in the urban environment. The way he expresses the isolation of figures in the city gave me an idea for my theme. In terms of coloring, Japanese manga culture inspired me a lot. Manga artists express the shadows and colors by only using tones of black and white. Monochromatic coloring expressions in my artworks are therefore strongly influenced by manga.
For the exhibition layout, I worked in an L-shaped space. The set up of my works are roughly chronological, which shows the development of my ideas. I divided my artwork in two groups. On one side of the wall, I put my artworks that have staircases as the subject, and on the other side, I exhibited artworks about isolation. Overall, my exhibition creates an impression of solitude and a stark atmosphere which hopefully reinforces my intended message.
Perspective
Pencil, marker pen, collage, inks
28cm x 120cm
This piece expresses the solitude of the local environment. By making black marker pen lines wet, I created tones in the drawing. The concept of this drawing is to show the leading lines, perspective and vanishing point by drawing stairs and roads. The few objects are showing perspectives from different angles. Gustave Caillebotte’s drawing of the street gave some inspiration to use perspective.
Somebody
Acrylic and pencil on canvas
120cm x 71cm
Somebody expresses anxiety that appears on ordinary days. The dark silhouette of the figure is placed in the middle left of this artwork, and the background with perspective reinforces the detachment of that figure from the realistic world. The artwork was created in black and white monochrome to emphasize the contrast between the background and silhouette and there is a loose reference to Manga style. The silhouette creates an anonymous figure that the audience imagines or is unknown.
Staircase
Ceramic
23cm×13 cm×17cm
Staircase has a concept of perspective and vanishing point.There is no figure on the stairs so the result is stark. The size of the stairs purposefully gets smaller like stairs in 2D drawings. The side wall makes the leading line clear too. I was affected by Michael Cleff’s artwork while I was making this artwork. His artwork also expresses the perspective in 3D artwork, so I was influenced by his techniques.
Depth
charcoal, pencil, paint
30cm×30cm
This artwork represents an empty and deserted staircase. I used black and grey underpainting for base. It makes the shadow of artworks clearer and helps define the composition. If I divide this artwork into 9 blocks, the iron grip of the handrail of the staircase is on the crossing point of the grid.
This artwork is based on the photograph that I took, and I referred to Gustave Caillebotte to learn how to create an atmosphere using perspective.
Suicidal
Pencil, dippen, tyvek paper, dip pen
88cm x 88cm
Suicidal is the drawing of an isolated suicidal figure. During the COVID crisis, the number of suicide cases increased a lot because of isolation. The hanged figure in this artwork is spotlighted to represent the isolation of suicide and highlight this problem. The artwork is completed from the bird’s eye viewpoint to make the light work more impressively. Ernest Pignon-Ernest influenced my style of drawing figures.
