Vietnamnews

Human face, emotion central to new exhibit

(18-10-2006)

by Vo Le Hong

HCM City — Japanese artist Fujiwara Shinobu’s installation, called A Gathering, displays her interest in the human face.

The new exhibit in the Himiko Visual Cafe includes a display of Fujiwara’s 200 toy-like clay figures on one wall, and on another, 186 close-up shots of the figures’ faces.

Upon entering the gallery, viewers are both shocked and delighted at seeing the expressive works.

Fujiwaras said she placed the photos on opposite walls to create a visual interaction between the doll-sized sculptures and their life-sized faces displayed in the photos, she said.

The multitude of expressions seems to capture moments of hidden emptiness, anger, unpleasantness or even naughtiness.

"I’m very impressed with her ability to observe and analyze people’s innermost feelings," Tran Thanh Nam, a well-known Vietnamese sculptor, said.

A graduate of Japan’s Osaka Mode School, Fujiwara studied special effects make-up and worked for four years in the Japanese television and movie industry.

Keeping face: Artwork by Fujiwara Shinobu explores the human face. — VNS Photo Vo Le Hong

When she started making her small figures for fun using special-effects materials, it gradually became her obsession and life’s work.

Fujiwana uses overbaked clay to make the faces and polyester resin to make the body, colouring them with acrylic paint.

She said she does not start from a theme but begins with an image in mind and lets her hands respond.

Rather than working from a concept, Fujiwara said she focuses only on the creation of faces which become the concept itself.

When Fujiwara made her first 100 pieces, she held her first exhibition in Osaka in 2004, then later travelled to Viet Nam to study sculpture for 10 months.

She said Viet Nam was an ideal place to study because the people tend to be very expressive.

Returning to Japan, she started working on a second series of faces, imbued with an energy she developed during her stay in Viet Nam.

Fujiwara said that she believes strongly in the existence of different universes, and thinks fantasy and dreams are an important facet of life.

"Many spirits exist, and they share the same time, feeling something moment by moment," the 26-year-old said. "I was thinking of those spirits while making the faces, and a desire was born that I wanted to get them together beyond any borders."

The exhibit can be seen at the Himiko Visual Cafe, 88 Huynh Tinh Cua Street, District 3 in HCM City until October 24. — VNS

http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn/showarticle.php?num=01CUL181006

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2006/10/623906/

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