tomoko hashimoto


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Dozy Daytime, Lively Nighttime, Exhibition Catalogue, 2019


 
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The Sky and The Bottom: In Response to Masaki Higuchi’s Essay

Tomoko Hashimoto

[Translated by Taeko Nanpei]



To confirm what Masaki Higuchi said in his essay, I also think that not one person in Japan was unaffected by the March 11 earthquake that occurred in 2011. In the same way that we talk about the prewar and postwar periods in Japan, we now think in terms of the pre-earthquake and post-earthquake environments. In the post-quake world in which we now live, I began to feel the need to find our own answers, through clarifying what we each think is right or wrong. In addition, we are also faced with situations in which we must decide whether to turn a blind eye or confront what we each think is wrong.

In order to seek my own answers, I aspire to see the truth that exists at the core of things, after eliminating superficial matters. Through seeing the good and bad, and everything that exists in between, I want to know facts so that I can be closer to the truth. Fully realizing this would be like standing at the edge of a cliff. But my aspiration is to peer into the bottom by standing at that edge, while at the same time looking up to the sky above me. In order to simultaneously view both, I do not have any other choice but to stand at the cliff's edge. The act of standing on the cliff to view both the above and below, as I risk being blown off by the wind, is similar to the act of painting. I would like to be prepared to accept both my strong and weak points, through juxtaposing them as equals before my eyes.




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