CUSTOM-MADE

node hotel (Kyoto, June 2024)

[The former exhibition]

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[The latter exhibition]

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Looking at the area around node hotel, you can see that the streets run vertically and horizontally in a grid-like pattern. The famous Gion Festival's yamaboko floats also bring excitement to the festival around this district. This distinctive layout is said to be a remnant of Heian-kyo. The title "CUSTOM-MADE" might have been inspired by experiencing this kind of cityscape during my visit to Kyoto.

Custom-made originally means "special order," derived from customizing mass-produced products to suit personal preferences. However, when we replace CUSTOM with the meaning of "habit" or "custom," it also evokes the image of something born out of traditions and customs.

Kyoto continues to attract people from all over the world because of its profound depth that cannot be easily glimpsed. This depth is the density and intensity of experiences cultivated over more than a thousand years of history. It suggests that even though we cannot usually see it, multifaceted perspectives and what might be considered cutting-edge today have actually existed since ancient times. Therefore, beneath the seemingly veiled surface, there is a newly matured source of energy that has transcended time, which is perhaps why we hear about various activities in contemporary art today.

With this realization and interest as a starting point, I plan to divide the exhibition into two parts and overlap the works and displays with the upcoming summer in Kyoto.

This city will surely show me a special scenery that I have yet to encounter.

（May 2024）

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祇園（GION) 2024 Acrylic and Carborundum on Cotton 348×356mm Private Collection