I exhibited an installation art piece titled 'Hisakatano' in a show together with works by other five artists in the 'Alternative Media Process' class that I am auditing at WSU.
This is a mixed media installation with lights, mirrors, paper, and thread. The image of this work was inspired by cherry blossoms and the shoji window of a Japanese house. I cut each petal of the cherry blossom out of the paper using an exacto knife and created another kind of flower on the floor. The paper and their images are visible in the mirrors and their reflection are visible on the walls as well as on the papers. This exchange continues in a loop. I am using these effects and multiple layers of light and shadow to express my thoughts as a sojourner who keeps sending her thoughts to her original place as well as her current place. I really like how it turned out with a lot of unexpected interesting happenings. It works very well conceptually as well.
The title of this piece, 'Hisakatano' is from a waka, a Japanese short poem, by Kino Tomonori from the 9th century. The word hisakatano itself does not have a meaning, but it is a word that goes with the word 'the light'. The poem goes like this:
Hisakatano hikarinodokeki harunohini
Shizukokoronaku hananochiruramu
ひさかたの 光のどけき春の日に
しづ心なく 花の散るらむ
It translates to:
On such a light tranquil spring day,
Why do the cherry blossoms fall like restless thoughts?
The poem can be interpreted in several ways, but when I finished this piece, it reminded me of this poem. I think it is a very beautiful and emotional poem.
The color changes depending on different light settings although the color of the light itself is the same, just like cherry blossoms slightly change their colors depending on the time of day and the weather.
See some more images and the artist statement here.
http://chiyokomyose.com/section/298717_Hisakatano_Installation_3.html
As a group exhibition, we had good variety and I think the show was pretty impressive. Installing works together in the gallery with live webcam and watching the opening reception online were also fun.
