Archive for February 2011
Fallen Camellias
Fallen Camellias (2010), Chieko Tagami, photograph: Greg Piper
This is another graduation work of mine. It is composed of a lacquer work-like glass bowl, glass camellias and salt. Needless to say, I got inspiration from Japanese stone garden. The red bowl with white background connote Japanese flag. The camellias around the bowl are “exiles” outside of Japan (the rising sun), and the salt expresses ocean and tears at the same time.
I gave both of my graduation works to people who played significant roles in my life in the past few years.
Despite of the wealth and precious friends I could get back there, Japan has never been the place I could fit in. From the very beginning of my life, I have carried something different from people around me, and I have missed something other than that I should have known in my upbringing. For some reason, I think that I finally found it here in Australia after the long journey.
I am the “exile” who kept escaping from my country, and fell outside of the vessel I should have fit in.
Now it is the time of camellias in Japan.
