Niwa '22 9

Japanese gardens, called “natural landscape styles,” are characterized by using natural materials such as stones, plants, and water to symbolically express natural scenery such as the ocean, rivers, mountains, islands, and fields. Among them, “dry landscape” is a style that does not use any water, and expresses the landscape of the landscape with only rocks, white sand, and plantings. Large and small natural stones are placed on white sand, and expressions are combined according to their shape and arrangement to create an idealistic world.

In Zen Buddhism, “dry landscape” has reached a state of “nothing” by integrating the natural landscape and self, and has also functioned as a device for meditation to look back at one's own existence. Water is also a symbol of spirituality such as mind, emotion, and unconsciousness. I have a deep interest in exploring the Japanese theme of “garden/dry landscape” while using mineral pigments, which are materials for Japanese paintings.

Most of the art materials used in Japanese painting expressions rely on natural materials. Phenomena such as uneven color development, sagging, accumulation, and even cracks in expressions using mineral pigments and water may appear to us as “coincidences” at first glance. However, they can be said to be inevitable based on natural laws due to conditions such as humidity (amount of water in the air) and moisture content of exhibition materials, and they are physical expressions and natural dynamism itself shown by the natural material itself called mineral pigments.

Mineral pigment, Paris white on Japanese washi