10 Questions with Ayuna

Artist Ayuna says that human beings might be empowered to live again due to inevitable moments. She experienced such a moment when she saw something extremely beautiful. One day, she suffered irresistible and cruel violence. She recalls, “I lolled while looking out of the window. The tree leaves waving in the breeze were too beautiful. The sound of the leaves being shaken by the breeze resembled that of the wave approaching the seaside. Only such a trifle scene wove my mind, breathing into me. I felt that I would live a little longer. So, I seem to trust the power of the beautiful. You know that line of a poem, ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever.’ Likewise, I would like to entertain those who see my work with such visual aesthetics. And if the viewer should get empowered through my work, I could not be happier”.

In the process of remodeling her self-ego anew out of necessity, Ayuna discovered the first persona, ‘A’. She thought that a human being makes layers of memory naturally while living and sometimes that they array the memory materials appropriately in a new environment. The form of the memory is not maintained as a single scene but arrayed several times anew in life. Through such a process, one’s ego would attempt to grow and change once again.

Ayuna has pulled out the fossilized memory among those recorded in her soul to make a new persona and has subjected it to a creative process. Her growth background would influence the discovery of the persona ‘A’. It was a strong will to survive the defenseless violence. Her persona ‘A’ has a will strong enough to survive in any world. And she consequently created a series of personas, “White Hair”, “Shell”, etc., that she brings sequentially to her works, expressing love, hope, life, and regeneration.

Ayuna guides the people into her works through personas. In addition, she expresses the nature that exists as it is, that natural process of winding and unwinding, and the weak and the strong in an effort to make a barrier against the violence she got through. Through such a process, she would save herself. She also wishes that somebody who views her works would be empowered to live in this violent world.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

“I flow.

I always agonize over how we could survive in this violent world and how we could get the power to stand in a life that collapses every second.

And nature tells me the stories. Nature is a space free from fixed conditions in human society. Life and death are two sides of nature that cannot take apart. Death is everywhere, and so does things newly born, like resurrection after death. Nature embraces everything. I feel relieved in weak but strong nature, embracing even the life of humans.

Nature does not seek for the reason of being. It exists because they exist. When I feel meaningless, I remind myself that we don’t live for a certain meaning or reason and that we just exist at the intersection of diverse coincidences made by arbitrary time and space. I can forget the limitation of our existence when I see what we truly are. In this chain of life expanding the universe, I erase the outline of human beings and see myself as a part of nature. And I repeat myself that we will live on because we exist, thinking of the consecutive cycle of nature.

And I gaze at the cycle of life, recovering naturalness, the sense of loss, through all flow of the atmosphere filled with the invisible and innumerable ether, the sea where the universe flows, the ground earth upon which we stand, leaves, and others. In the middle of these things, I stand up once again, expressing rehabilitation, vitality, love, and why we have to maintain our lives in my art. That would be the most sincere way for me to deliver energy for life to everyone. I will live on as a vocation, painting everything with all my hope in this eternal cycle of instant moments.

Everything flows.”

- Ayuna

INTERVIEW

Could you tell us a little more about your background and how did you begin making art? 

As I wrote in my biography, my childhood was quite tough, and it was hard for me to cope with the emotions that I had and say about it clearly. Inside myself, the thoughts that I wanted to spout the emotions out were filled up, and at some point, I started to paint that heart about to explode.  

When did you decide to become an artist? And what do you wish you knew about contemporary art before you got started? 

I finally could survive when I started to paint. For me to survive, I thought I had to paint, so being an artist was inevitable, and I accepted it. Though I think differently now. And about contemporary art, well, it would have been nice to know earlier how the other artist actually work. The actual way they produce their outputs and show them to the world. For example, I didn’t know all the artwork processes when I just started to be an artist, like taking pictures of the artwork after painting and applying for the open call. I am a very practical person. I needed a concrete plan before jumping into work, but it was hard for me to build a system to be an artist because it felt too obscure and abstract to me.

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?

I always decide on the theme for the next year and think about how I will tell the story at the end of the year. And I go through the process where I categorize the keywords under the theme and visualize them. Finally, I ponder what would be the best way to deliver my intention to the viewers. 

The figures in your paintings don’t usually have a clear face. Their faces are hidden or cut out of the painting. Why do you depict them like this? 

Oh, I have expected the question for a long time. I am so glad I got a chance to talk about this. Through my persona, I express my view of the world and invite people into my artworks. I want them to go inside the artwork and sincerely empathize with it. To do that, I think the figures in the painting need to have anonymity to some extent. It would be hard for people to empathize if it is too obvious that the figures in the paintings are the portrait of the artist or certain people. Also, the surface of a face is appropriate to show emotions, and it doesn’t remind one’s soul. If the feature of the face were too clear, people would focus on just the face, and it would be hard for them to see the soul or spirit beyond the surface. Sometimes we need to go through a blurry maze to get into the deeper spot. 

What is the most challenging part of your work? And where do you find inspiration?

Developing an idea or creating artwork is not challenging for me. More than that, it is challenging for me to keep myself healthy. Actually, it is not an easy job sitting down and concentrating on a painting for long hours. It is only possible when you are physically healthy. Unfortunately, my health is not good all the time. I climb up mountains for reference photos shooting quite often, but I guess it is not helping. 
Inspirations exist everywhere. They come naturally when I want them, like the smell of each season. When the scent of Acacia wavers around me as I walk up the mountain in spring, I feel fluttered. In autumn, when the scent of freshly cut grass mixed with the smell of falling leaves and rain fills up the air, my heart is deepened. Such sensations from nature come to me as an inspiration touching my heart. 

You use very soft colors, despite your work often dealing with the idea of violence. Why did you choose these colors, and what messages would you like to convey?

I experience violence, but that is not the subject of my work, even though my experience has impacted the world of my artworks. How we will survive in this violent world is the subject of my artwork. I do think we need more soft, round light to embrace the world. I hope we don’t fight against violence with violence to be strong. I believe that we can get over any hardship if we can concentrate on more love, warmth, and hope. Every living thing has its energy to recover, so full regeneration will be there if there is a hint and a little bit of light. It includes humans. I want my work to trigger the start of that recovery. This is not just a wish. I paint, believing surely it will become true.  

Over the past couple of years, we have witnessed major changes in the art world. What do you think of the shift toward the digital world? Did you participate in any digital exhibition? Or do you plan to start working with digital art and NFTs?

I have participated in a few digital exhibitions, and I am expecting there will be more of this kind of exhibition in the future. The digital world is an entirely different environment for artworks compared to galleries. For the digital exhibitions in the future, I want to create new artwork referencing ‘zoom in and out’, the feature of the digital world. Oil paints and drawing will still be my primary materials for artworks, but I am glad to study more about digital art since I got this new challenge in the way of showing my works. 

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about? 

I am studying mythology, symbol, and iconography. Soon I will make artworks about my archetypes of the unconscious. Burning things, omen, origin, and fire dance!

Do you have any upcoming exhibitions or presentations? 

They haven’t settled yet. 

And finally, where do you see yourself 5 years from now? 

Now my works are in a phase of introduction where all the characters and persona have been introduced. It will be a long story, and I want to be an artist who can tell the story with interesting visuals. Also, I hope to utilize the right tools more freely on each subject I want while earning more knowledge and practice through various experiences. Therefore in 5 years, I will be expressing what I want to deliver to people and proceeding one step by step with a responsibility for what I made. I hope I am not afraid of breaking through my limit and am flexible in the turning point so that I hope I go toward the new world all the time. I know that one can choose and do their best in every single moment is a privilege of a person who exists in the present.