'Slowing down in Itoshima' is the result of an artist in residence in April 2024 in Itoshima (Kyushu, Japan) at Studio Kura.
Slowing down in itoshima
Artist statement
With my work I try to visualize the charm of everyday rural Japan in intimate personal work that tells a story. My experiences during my time in Itoshima are expressed through drawing, painting, photographing, writing and collage.
In Itoshima I tried to let go of notions of time and pressure and enjoy the everyday, savouring every moment however small and living day by day. Slowing down can allow for a renewed focus on happiness, beauty and gratitude for (our) life and more attention to our body and environment.
In my work I have tried in several ways to capture the beauty and charm of everyday life in Itoshima. Re-occuring themes are the healing power of nature, Shinto and the charm that can be found in daily (seemingly mundane) moments.
Through the work I would like to open a dialogue in what it means to slow down and to live in harmony with your body and nature.
In 2020 I developed the chronic illness Long Covid after a covid infection. Slowing down and savouring every moment while being chronically ill, I hope that my work can also be a message of comfort and hope to the many people that are struggling with their physical and mental health after a covid infection, or who have another chronic illness that impacts their freedom and every day and choice they make.
Sounds of Itoshima / 糸島の音
Slow down with the soundscape ‘Sounds of Itoshima’.
Recorded in April 2024 during Artist in Residence at Studio Kura, Itoshima, Japan. Listen to the sea, the frogs at night in the rice paddies, the rain, the birds singing, the daily broadcasts in the countryside (for the farmers in the fields, for the children to signal them to go home after school) and more. This soundscape starts in the morning and ends at night, a compilation of the sounds you can find in Itoshima.
Torii and rocks, 2024. 12.5 x 17.5 cm. Gouache, coloured pencil and Akashiya Sai watercolour brush pens on Fabriano 200 gram cold press watercolour paper. Frame: 20 x 25 cm SOLD
A day at the beach, 2024. 27 x 24 cm. Gouache, coloured pencil and Akashiya Sai watercolour brush pens on Shikishi board. Frame: 28 x 35 cm. SOLD
Boundless, 2024. 22 x 30 cm. Gouache, coloured pencil and Akashiya Sai watercolour brush pens on Fabriano 200 gram cold press watercolour paper. Frame: 30 x 40 cm € 480
Serenity, 2024. 37 x 27.5 cm. Gouache, coloured pencil and Akashiya Sai watercolour brush pens on Fabriano 200 gram cold press watercolour paper. Frame: 40 x 50 cm SOLD