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.

I will exhibit my work at the following sites this week.

1) Sydney College of the Arts, Gallery 1 & 2, Balmain Road, at Cecily Street, Rozelle (20 – 23 Jan)
2) Glass Artists’ Gallery, 68 Glebe Point Road, Glebe (20 – 31 Jan)

See you there!

Tomorrow is the opening of the graduating exhibition at Australian National University. My work I left my camellia trees behind is at Arch Space of Glass Department. See you there!

I left my camellia trees behind (2010) by Chieko Tagami, photograph by Greg Piper

 This is one of my graduation works. The glass trees are my golden image of what I left behind in Japan. I literally left camellia trees at my home in Osaka and miss them. My neighbors always say that they enjoy the beautiful big flowers every spring, but I am never there to enjoy. It is the installation which expresses what I left behind in the process of my life. Behind these hanging glasses, you will see huge shadow of trees and I put hundreds of pieces of paper which tell what I miss in Japan. From distance, the shadow and letters on the papers merge into trees and leaves. I should have taken photos of it, but I was too tired, concentrating too much on entertaining people who helped me to install this piece. I hope that I can install this one again at graduation show this December.

I cannot do anything about it for now, so I write something else. If you are depressed, and live in one of “developed” countries (such as Cuba!? but not USA…), I recommend watching Michael Moore’s film. Probably like many other people, I got to know him with Bowling for Columbine (2002) and I fell in love with his documentaries. I read his books and bought DVD of his TV series Awful Truth. Hilarious and so clever. And I couldn’t help thanking the privilege that I had. The entire film of SICKo was uploaded in YouTube. Watch this and cheer up! At least it works for me.

BTW so happy that Japanese Prime Minister is now KAN Naoto. Unfortunately Minister of Justice CHIBA Keiko was lost her seat in the House of Councillors on July 11, 2010. I think that it is largely because Chiba is against death penalty and did not sign to execute anyone. I heard that Prime Minister keeps her as Minister of Justice until September, but she should continue her role to enlighten people in Japan. It is honestly barbaric and childish to think that killing someone would solve the issue and/or make someone else feel better. It is disgraceful that many Japanese approves death penalty.

The link below is about a Japanese movie Caterpillar. I have not seen it yet but heard that it was a great antiwar movie.

http://www.dissidenz-intl.com/2010/01/caterpillar-by-koji-wakamatsu/

For example, right after Daigo was born, he started crying in early morning. I couldn’t get up right away, as I was taking care of him all night. Then I heard someone gently saying, shhhh, shhhh… Of course nobody was in our bedroom. Then Daigo stopped crying. 

Recently, again when Daigo started crying in the middle of the night, I felt someone touching me on the bed linen. I tried to reach the hands, then the hands held my hand, just like I do for Daigo when he cannot sleep. It was a woman’s hands, as if she urged me to wake up and cuddle my baby. I wonder who she was.

I don’t believe that death makes us apart. I strongly feel that we are protected by something I cannot (or refuse to) see. I just wanted to thank them whether they are at this moment living or not.

I started glass making in 2004, which is 100 years anniversary of my angel of glass, Emile Galle’s death. Some people say that today is 200 years anniversary after Chopin was born (others say it was 22 February). Since when I was six, I learned to play piano. There are many angels of music for me, but for piano, Chopin is one of my greatest loves. Even his etudes are highly artistic. Playing Chopin’s pieces in a cloudy or rainy day takes you to melancholic, sentimental and meditative world. He was truly a musical poet and a great artist.

This is one of many pieces I love.