Maria Mitsumori
Japan
Born in 1988, in Tokyo, Japan, I left home at the age of 8, and spent 3 years in Hong Kong and 12 years in international boarding schools in Switzerland. I grew up in an environment of respect for differences in traditions and values, where diverse ethnic groups existed as a matter of course, and each coexisted as an independent entity. I am specifically interested in depicting landscapes and architecture, as the streets reflected the characteristics of the historical and cultural backgrounds of the people who lived there. I could get a sense of the place by looking at its streets. For me, the act of painting streetscapes is a means of recognizing the world’s diversity. I present the sceneries seen through my eyes in an art form.
The foundation of my creative process lies in the belief that tradition transcends borders and is one enduring means of connecting the past and future. For this reason, I specifically work in the technique of Japanese painting, the traditional art form of my country. I also find the traditional Japanese painting to be most effective in accurately recreating glowing sceneries as I see them. One of its signature mediums, mineral pigment, is made primarily from crushed natural ores. The sand-like coarse particles themselves have no adhesive properties, so I add natural animal collagen as a glue solution and knead it with my fingers, before placing colors onto the support, one by one. Japan has a culture of 8 million gods, and it is believed that gods dwell in all things. I love the idea of connecting with this belief through the creation of Japanese paintings.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
