| In August 2008 I had the opportunity to spend a week on the Ginza in Tokyo, Japan. The very first morning was quite surreal as I walked down one of the most expensive retail districts in the world with virtually no people. The streets are lined with buildings like Prada, Cartier, Tiffany & Co, BVLGARI, Burberry, Dior and many many more, in fact some of these names have more that one outlet in Ginza alone, let alone the other provinces of Tokyo and the airport. I could not have possibly orchestrated a moment in time that I witnessed as one of the local homeless people lay under an unbearably humid sky surrounded with his collection of valuables. From the subway vents a breeze blows around his withered body and another man struggles by him with his walking stick fighting to stand at all, let alone walk. This was an amazing beginning to 7 days in Tokyo for obvious reasons that I need not explain. |
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Each time I visit another country it gives me much to consider, our differences as people on this ever changing and increasingly small world. And even though distance and culture cause us to see the world through unique points of view, I was privileged to make a connection with an artist living outside Kyoto named Sachiyo Demura.
Japanese homes in this area are not large on the ground floor, but do have many levels and space is used well. Sachiyo had art over all the walls of the house, a number of perhaps 20 floral paintings waiting in a small room for her next exhibition, to get to her studio we carefully crept up a small tight staircase into a room filled with years of art works, books, materials and even yet another room above which held even more works up a precarious ladder. It was such a revelation to be inside someone else's creative space, I have visited a number of artists here in Australia however none had studios with such warmth and sense of history. |
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Sachiyo is a very kind woman, and her art is very much her passion. The room was filled with canvas, some half complete, some finished, some perhaps will never be finished. She actually seemed to believe that she wasn't a real artist, in her own mind perhaps she felt she had a long way to go before she would have the respect of fellow artists in Japan, I am unsure of why she felt her work was not impressive as from my point of view she was very much accomplished, published and exhibiting a style that was reminiscent of classic painters like Van Gogh and Monet. |
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I loved the texture she achieved and the seemingly random but ultimately purposeful effect of every stroke. It actually gave me a sense of belonging to see her work up close as it reminded me very much of how I approach my work and that achieving a photographic finish is not where I want to be, that my art must and will be a medium for people to always bring their own interpretations and emotions. Sachiyo was very much the artist with no sense of time or accomplishment, it seemed she was far more concerned with the journey of each painting than how many she was producing per month and how much money each painting was making. It caused me to pause and think of what was really important in life, to own a mountain of material wealth or enjoy your passion for life and focus your energy on fulfilling you purpose on this earth. |
Our time with her was short as the Bullet Train was due to leave, the language barrier prevented us from having a deeper and more meaningful exchange however she expressed her appreciation of my interest by gifting me with a small work to return to Australia with. If you are interested in purchasing some of her work do not hesitate to contact me and I will help you out. Our wish is to have an exhibition with some of her work available here in Australia in the coming year.
Visit the Demura website
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