3D Virtual Exhibition October 5-21
Pure psychic automatism, through which we propose to express, with words or writing or in another way, the real functioning of thought. Command of thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, beyond any aesthetic and moral concern.» (André Breton, Surrealism’s Manifesto, 1924) Between reality and fiction, rational and irrational, mystery and revelation. What is the Surreal? What is Surreality?
Art comes from matter, it comes from a whole
from which concrete forms are generated that
come to life from abstract images and
thoughts.
Aomi Kikuchi is a Japanese artist who has
structured her profound artistic philosophy
starting from textiles.
Aomi's has strong references, in terms of the
choice of the artistic medium, to “Arte Povera”.
There are no acrylics, there are no oil paints
or canvases; but there are sculptures assembled
with woods, fabrics and - of course - textile
fibers.
Each artwork is highly significant, it is studied.
These artworks are stories of personal views
and reflections. Aomi deals with profound issues
and shows them to us through her vision
in the form of art.
“Navel Cord” shows the strong and visceral
bond between mother and child, inherent in
the umbilical cord, an element so important
during pregnancy but which is then removed
and discarded without any care.
However, through the reflection on death, with
“Woman 2022” she shows us how man is full
of prejudices when in truth we are all the same
because, regardless of skin color, we all have
the same ivory bones, without any distinction.
“Suffering Tofu” and “Leftover” are two other
works that come to life starting from a reflection
on death, in particular “Leftover” wants to
be a warning to live life fully by taking the distance
from selfishness, greed and vices at
the expense of others.
Thoughts, art and spirituality come together,
like the textile fibers of her works, uniting, intertwining
in a firm indissoluble grip.
Beatrice Cordaro
Art historian
L’arte nasce dalla materia, nasce da un tutto dal
quale si generano forme concrete che prendono
vita da immagini astratte e pensieri.
Aomi Kikuchi . un’artista giapponese che a partire
dal tessile ha strutturato la sua filosofia artistica
profonda.
Quella di Aomi ha forti rimandi, sul piano della
scelta del medium artistico, all’Arte povera. Non
ci sono acrilici, non ci sono colori ad olio n. tele;
ma ci sono sculture assemblate con legni, tessuti
e – naturalmente – fibre tessili.
Ogni opera d’arte . fortemente significativa, .
studiata. I suoi sono racconti di vedute e riflessioni
personali. Aomi tratta tematiche profonde e
ce le mostra attraverso la sua visione sottoforma
di arte.
“Navel Cord” mostra il legame forte e viscerale
tra madre e figlio, insito nel cordone ombelicale,
un elemento cos. importante durante la gravidanza
ma che poi viene rimosso e gettato senza
alcuna cura.
Attraverso la riflessione sulla morte, invece, con
“Woman 2022” ci dimostra come l’uomo sia pieno
di pregiudizi quando in verit. siamo tutti uguali
perch., indipendentemente dal colore della pelle,
abbiamo tutti le stesse ossa d’avorio, senza alcuna
distinzione. “Suffering Tofu” e “Leftover”
sono altre due opere che prendono vita a partire
dalla riflessione sulla morte, in particolare “Leftover”
vuole essere un monito per vivere pienamente
la vita prendendo la distanza dall’egoismo,
dall’avarizia e dai vizi a discapito del prossimo.
Pensieri, arte e spiritualit. si fondono, cos., come
le fibre tessili delle sue opere, unendosi, intrecciandosi
in una salda stretta indissolubile.
Beatrice Cordaro
Storico dell’arte
Title:Navel cord
Year: 2022
Media: Wire, Fiber
Dimension: 8 x8 x 50 cm
In Japan, there is a custom to keep part of the umbilical cord in a paulownia box as a symbol of the bond between mother and child. The mother supplies nutrients to the fetus through the placenta, and waste products are sent to the mother through the placenta. The placenta and umbilical cord are lifelines for the fetus, and after they have completed their function, they are separated from the uterus and expelled with the baby. It plays a very important role in the birth of new life, but after giving birth, it is thrown away without particular care. It can be said to be a symbol of unconditional love, and I can see the merciful love that Buddha preached there.
Title: Suffering Tofu
Year: 2022
Media: Cotton Fiber, Silk Gauze, Tofu Maker
Dimension: 15x12x15 cm
Death is one of the four inevitable sufferings that the Buddha preached. I focused on "death" among them and expressed the skull as a tofu relief. Tofu originated in China and is now widely used as a daily food in many countries. On the other hand, although death is not inevitable and can come to anyone anywhere in the world, we treat it like something special and avoid thinking about it in our daily lives. In 2017, I drew a skull for the first time in a work titled "Moment-2", which uses a courtesan as a motif. Until then, it was taboo for me to draw or create skeletons. This is because I felt negative energy, including death, in skeletons. But observing and drawing the skull, the kind of fear I had disappeared. In my work, "Woman", I realized that if the skin and muscles were removed, everyone would have ivory bones, regardless of race or gender. Since then, the skeleton has become a symbol of non-discrimination for me. In this work, I combined a skull with tofu, a daily food, to express that death is part of our lives.I think that accepting the impermanence and insubstantiality of our life will lead to peace of mind, rather than being afraid and not thinking about it.
Title: Woman 2022
Year: 2022
Media: Wire, Fiber
Dimension: 70 x 12 x 10cm (27”x5”x4”)
In 2018, I created a work titled woman. When I thought about the differences in race and gender, I realized that if we remove the skin and muscles from the human body, we all have the same ivory bones. And when I put long hair on the skeleton, it looked like a woman to me. I was surprised that I myself have a fixed idea that I have cultivated over many years. This time, after weaving the shape of the skeleton with wire, I planted each hair on the scalp. People who see this work will think that it is a female skeleton from the title and appearance. We feel like we are seeing the real picture as it is, but we are often influenced by things like prejudices that our brain derives from experience. Recognizing this will lead to awareness of various contradictions in modern society, and will lead to the realization of a better society.
Title: Leftover 2021
Year: 2021
Media: Silk Gauze, Goose Down, Hair Extension
Size: 22”H x 13”W x 4”D, 55 x 32 x 10 (cm)
I observed a dead bird. The bird lost its shape in four or five days, leaving only bones and feathers at the end. These skulls, hairs and feathers are metaphors of the impermanence and insubstantiality of all life.
Immediately after we die, our bodies begin to decompose. However, if left without cremation, hair and bones will remain. Bones can sometimes be found in burial mounds that are more than 1,000 years old. No matter how rich, how smart, or how beautiful we are, we can only leave ourselves with hair and bones.
There is nothing we can protect forever, so why do we work recklessly, discriminate against others, and go crazy for money? I hope that the desire to leave something behind in this world will be directed to activities that will make the world a better place for the next generation.
Since nature itself is cyclical, I incorporate the idea of reuse, regeneration and recycling.
This work recreates the theme of my previous work, "Leftover", and was made using materials I used last time: silk gauze, reused hair extensions, and goose down from old duvets found at home.
Casting a plastic skull, I made three silk gauze skulls. It is the same method as when making papier-mâché. This time, I planted hair on the skulls' heads and the small chunks of goose down were pierced by hairs. I connected three skulls with a braid at the tip of their hair.