ポーラ美術館は、2017年10月に、現代美術を展示するスペース「アトリウム ギャラリー」をオープンし、平成8年よりポーラ美術振興財団が助成してきた若手芸術家たちを紹介する「HIRAKU Project」を開始しました。第9回目の展示として、「半澤友美 The Histories of the Self」展を開催します。

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本展では、開放的な展示空間の特性を考慮しながら丹念に制作された、約300枚の紙で構成するインスタレーションを初公開いたします。「The Histories of the Self」というタイトルは、このインスタレーションの制作方法に由来するものです。半澤は、植物の繊維が絡み合った、着色された原料を平らな板の上にスポイトで点々と垂らし、それを幾層も重ね、プレスにかけて一枚の紙を作ります。

こうして制作された数多の紙は、赤や朱、紫、褐色などの紙の原料の選び方や厚み、プレスのかけ具合などの条件によってそれぞれ異なります。紙の素材感豊かな本作品は、素材のもつ儚さやまだらな色のありようによって、不穏な雰囲気を漂わせ、観る者それぞれが積み重ねてきた時間の存在と向き合うことをうながしています。

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The “Hiraku Project” is conceived as a series of exhibitions introducing contemporary artworks by Pola Art Foundation Grant recipients. The exhibitions are to be held at the Atrium Gallery, recently established to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Pola Museum of Art. “Hiraku” translates as ‘open,’ in the sense of ‘responsive to new possibilities.’ We are pleased to present [Tomomi Hanzawa’s The Histories of the Self ] as the 9th exhibition in our HIRAKU Project.

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Tomomi Hanzawa (1988 – ) creates her distinctive works using Japanese washi paper plant fibers as her materials. She has recently been producing three-dimensional pieces on a life-size human scale. The structures, like the human body, need a strong framework to support the bulk of the weight attached. Hanzawa chose a metal mesh for this framework. As clumpy paper pulp is poured, fibers become entangled in the net and, through a process of several repetitions, gradually flesh out a form. When dry, the solid material takes on a definite three-dimensional form, like a human body. Once the shape is finalized, inner and outer surfaces appear and, like the human spirit, have transformative influences.

While creating her three-dimensional and semi-three-dimensional forms in 2018, Hanzawa trained at a paper studio in the United States. She took the opportunity to also survey local handmade paper techniques in Mexico and Canada and produced her monotone Drawings on Paper (2018) series using local Kenaf and cotton fibers and the tamesuki papermaking method, whereby washi stock materials are applied in layers and pressed. As a result, these were flat, in contrast to her previous three-dimensional works. Repeated layering and pressing of different types of stock allowed random variations of thickness and pattern-like forms to emerge on the surface.

The Histories of the Self (2019) series featured in this exhibition developed from Hanzawa’s ‘drawings from papermaking.’ Each of the works in the series has its own character, depending on how red, green, purple, brown and other paper stock particles were layered and pressed. Hanzawa calls differences ‘personality’ and even refers to the works as ‘selves.’ Various elements make up a ‘self’ – the place one was born and raised, family, friends, etc. – and Hanzawa believes that stacks of fiber built through papermaking reflect such relationships. Even without a metal mesh framework, individual differences stand out because of irregularities in the flat surfaces. It is like the effect the changing context and color of the earth has on variation seen humans and in all living things.

The process of ‘drying’ is also an important element of Hanzawa’s work. The first step is, of course, to press out as much water as possible to allow the fibers to blend and then letting the paper dry slowly on a board. After that, it is necessary to allow time for persimmon tannin and color coatings to soak in, and for drying oil, such as linseed or walnut oil, to permeate until a soft gloss appears. Although Hanzawa tries to control the amount of persimmon tannin and drying oil, the drying time is affected by the environment and often does not go as planned. Other unexpected conditions and effects also arise. The works are self-contained and independent. This, actually, is what Hanzawa, is seeking.