NEW CAVE (Artist Statement)

Hiraku Suzuki

It often happens that thrill of something exciting right before my eyes inspires me more than some remotely exotic places that I explore. For example, it can be a moment in which I spot two branches a tree that fell onto the asphalt in a way that they form what looks like hieroglyphic character or some kind of signal. This triggers the sensation of a silent encounter with something new yet somehow familiar, like a keyway to a different time and space that appears in the middle of the here and now.

I want to capture – through drawing and looking at the signs that have been drawn – the moments when the body’s internal memory and that of the outside world fall together on uncharted areas, like perfectly fitting pieces of an ever-transforming puzzle.

The method I have in mind is closer to “excavating” things that are hidden in the here and now, than to “depicting” personal imaginary events through the act of drawing. Therefore, I’ve been focusing as much as possible on materials and places in my direct environment. The works that come out of this are again keyholes for people – including myself – who look at them, and I hope that they will make use of these holes to peep into the new spheres that are stretching on the other side.

January 2008
contribution to the solo exhibition catalogue “NEW CAVE” published by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Tokyo Wonder Site

 

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